Lancia Rally 037

H.F. Grifone team's 037 at the Race Retro 2008.

In 1980 Lancia began the development of the 037 to comply with the then new FIA Group B regulations that allowed cars to race with relatively few homologation models being built. As the project name was number 037, this eventually became the name by which the car was known. Abarth, now a part of the Lancia-Fiat family, did most of the design work, even incorporating styling cues from some of its famous race cars of the 1950s and 1960s such as a double bubble roof line. The car was developed in collaboration between Pininfarina, Abarth, Dallara and the project manager, engineer Sergio Limone. Prior to its first participation in the 1982 World Rally Championship season, 200 road-going models were built to comply with Group B regulations.

The car made its competition debut at the 1982 Rally Costa Smeralda in Italy, where two cars were entered but both retired due to gearbox issues. The 1982 season was plagued with retirements for the 037, but the new car did manage to achieve several wins including its first win at the Pace Rally in the UK. The 1983 season was considerably more successful for the 037: Lancia took the 1983 World Rally Championship Constructors' title with Germany's Walter Röhrl and Finland's Markku Alen its principal drivers, despite serious competition from the 4WD Audi Quattro. Both drivers, however, missed the final round of the series, despite Röhrl maintaining a mathematical chance of the drivers' title: such honours instead went to Audi's veteran Finn, Hannu Mikkola.

Lancia 037 Evolution 2

For the 1984 Constructors' title defence, Lancia introduced an Evolution 2 version of the 037 with improved engine power output, but this was not enough to stem the tide of 4WD competition, losing to Audi in both 1984 championships, and again to the 4WD Peugeot 205 T16 in its final works season in 1985. Indeed, Alen collected the final 037 win, and the sole one for the E2 model, on the 1984 Tour De Corse, before it was finally pensioned off in the Martini sponsored Lancia factory rally car line-up in favour of its successor, the uniquely supercharged and turbocharged 4WD Delta S4, for the season-ending RAC Rally in Great Britain. Driver Attilio Bettega died in a 037 crash in 1985.

António Rodrigues won the 1984 Falperra International Hill Climb in a 037.

The accessible user compartments opened

Engine

The Lancia 037 was a silhouette racer; while it was loosely based on the Lancia Montecarlo (also known as Scorpion in the US and Canadian markets) road car, they shared only the center section with all body panels and mechanical parts being significantly different. Steel subframes were used fore and aft of the 037's center section, while most of the body panels were made from Kevlar.

The mid-engined layout of the Montecarlo was retained, but the engine was turned 90 degrees from a transverse position to a longitudinal position. This allowed greater freedom in the design of the suspension while moving engine weight forward.[2]

An independent double wishbone suspension was used on both the front and rear axles, with dual shock absorbers in the rear in order to cope with the stresses of high speed off road driving. The 037 is notable in Group B as it retained the rear-wheel drive layout that was nearly universal for rally cars of the pre-Group B period; nearly all subsequent successful rally cars used four-wheel drive, making the 037 the last of its kind.

Unlike its predecessor, the V6-powered Lancia Stratos HF, the first 037s had a 2.0-litre 4-cylinder supercharged engine. Based on the long stroke twin cam engine which powered earlier Fiat Abarth 131 rally cars, the four valve head was carried over from the 131 Abarth but the original two carburetors were replaced by a single large Weber carburetor in early models and later with fuel injection. The 037 features a ZF transaxle.[1]

Lancia also chose a supercharger over a turbocharger to eliminate turbo lag and improve throttle response. Initially, power was quoted at 265 hp (198 kW) but was increased to 280 hp (209 kW). The final Evolution 2 model's engine generated 325 hp (242 kW) due to a displacement increase to 2,111 cc (2.1 L).

Street car

1982 Lancia 037 Stradale at Paris - RM Auctions on February 4, 2015

• Body: kevlar reinforced with fiberglass
• Weight: 1,170 kg (2,579 lb) in running condition
• Dimensions: length 3,915 mm (154.1 in), width 1,850 mm (72.8 in), height 1,245 mm (49.0 in), wheelbase 2,440 mm (96.1 in)
• Engine configuration: longitudinally mounted Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, Straight-4
• Bore X Stroke: 84 mm × 90 mm (3.31 in × 3.54 in)
• Displacement: 1,995 cc (2.0 L; 121.7 cu in)
• Max. power: 205 hp (208 PS; 153 kW) at 7,000 rpm
• Max. torque: 226 N⋅m (167 lb⋅ft) at 5,000 rpm
• Supercharger: Abarth Volumex system with pressure between 0.6 and 0.9 bar (8.7 and 13.1 psi)
• Lubrication: dry sump
• 

  The Lancia Rally 037 chassis 305 winner at the UK Rally in 1983
  Valvetrain: DOHC driven by belt, 4 valves per cylinder
• Clutch: Single dry plate, diameter 230 mm (9.1 in) with hydraulic foot pedal
• Transmission: ZF The type claw, 5-speed plus reverse
• Differential: Self-Locking with two shafts fitted with CV joints
• Front suspension: Independent double wishbone, coil springs, gas shock absorbers and stabilizer bar
• Rear Suspension: Identical to front but with dual shock absorbers and without bar
• Wheels: Speedline 16" alloy wheels, Pirelli P7 205/55 VR 16 tires
• Steering: Rack and pinion, lubricated and shock
• Cooling: Forced with pump and radiator front
• Ignition: Electronic inductive discharge Marelli AEI 200 A

Homologation requirements for the World Rally Championship's Group B mandated Lancia to produce at minimum 200 verifiable road-going examples in order to compete with the 037. 207 037 Stradale (Italian for "road going/for the road") cars are known to have been produced from 1982 through 1984.[4][5] This road-going 037 variant was equipped with an Abarth-developed DOHC 2.0-litre (1,995 cc) 16-valve Inline-four engine, mated to an Abarth Volumex Roots-type supercharger generating 205 hp (153 kW) at 7,000 rpm.[6] It was capable of pushing the car to over 220 km/h (137 mph) and to 100 km/h (62 mph) from a standstill in 5.8 seconds.

• 
  Attilio Bettega's former Lancia 037 Rally.
• 
  037 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2007.
• 
  037 at the 2006 Historic Motorsport Show.
• 
  037 in Safari Rally trim.
• 
  One of the 207 037 Stradales produced.
• 
  037 Stradale from the rear.

• Pelassa, Piergiorgio. (1993). 037 Ultimo Mito.
• Cheetham, Craig. (2003). The World's Most Exotic Sports Cars: Super Cars. Motorbooks. ISBN 0-7603-1685-6.

• "Lancia 037 web site". lanciarally037.com. Retrieved 2 October 2010.