A new Lancia Stratos prototype has been spied recently doing test runs on the company's Balocco test track near Milano, Italy. Although the name Lancia Stratos was not official confirmed for the new prototype, the car shows a striking resemblance to the classic model which ruled the rally stages a few decades ago. The original Lancia Stratos had its public unveiling back in 1970 at the Torino auto show.
The new Lancia Stratos prototype keeps the overall proportions of the classic model, however, it also shows some major design differences. The new Lancia Stratos features wider wheel arches, different size wheels on the front and rear, new headlights and more aggressive design lines.
The new Lancia Stratos caught in these images is sponsored by an European business man, which means this could be a one-off model, and not a production car. This 'new Lancia Stratos' could also be a new Ferrari in disguise, but if this would be the case, it's curious the Prancing Horse didn’t throw it directly on its Maranello test track. Putting the new Stratos on this, more secluded, track offers less exposure to spy photographers, but not enough it seems.
The new Lancia Stratos prototype shows a resemblance to one of the company's concepts from the 2005
Geneva Motor Show, which had a V8 engine developing 419 hp. If the new Lancia Stratos is the production model of that particular concept, it could mean it will have a carbon fiber body and an aluminum chassis.
We'll have more details on the new Lancia Stratos as soon as they become available.
[Source: Automarket]
