In 1979, the FIA announced a radical change in the racing-car classification system. With a newly created Group B scheduled to begin with the 1982 season, manufacturers were left with little time to develop cars for rally competition under the new rules. Group B homologation would only require 200 examples, so production would not present a major problem, but Lancia determined that there would not be time to start their new rally car entirely from scratch.
Instead, Lancia would turn to help Abarth and Pininfarina, as they had with the endurance-racing Beta Montecarlo Turbo. Like that circuit racer, the new rally car, code-named Abarth project SE037, would be based on the central monocoque of the production Montecarlo road car, but with the engine and suspension carried on tubular subframes front and rear. Unlike the Montecarlo Turbo, the new 037 would have its engine mounted longitudinally and fitted with a Roots-type Volumex supercharger for more instant throttle response. As with the Montecarlo road cars, Pininfarina would build the body shells, and final body development took place in their wind tunnel. The new car’s official model name reflected its singular focus; it would be called simply the “Rally.”
The Lancia Rally formally debuted in March 1982, and homologation was certified on 1 April 1982, by which time 207 examples had been constructed. The 037’s first competition test was the Tour de Corse in May 1982. Although the new car finished a promising 9th overall, Lancia recognized that the 1982 season would be intense development rather than a championship run. The year ended with Markku Alén and Ilkka Kivimäki taking their 037 to a strong 4th-place finish on the RAC Rally. The following year, 1983, saw Walter Röhrl and Markku Alén lead the Martini Racing Lancia team to wins at Monte Carlo, Tour de Corse, Acropolis, New Zealand, and Sanremo on its way to the 1983 World Rally Championship—Lancia’s fifth championship and the last WRC title by a two-wheel-drive car.
Source: rmsothebys.com
Images: Pininfarina; Archivio Storico Fiat
