Lancia Group B Rally Homologation Car Could Be Yours
Lancia Rally 037 is a Lancia Group B Homologation Car. Though it’s road-legal, make no mistake, it’s a full-blown race car.
When most people think of a homologation car, they think of the Lancer Evolution or Subaru WRX. More obscure homologation fans will likely point to things like the Nissan Pulsar GTi-R or the Mitsubishi Galant VR4. Not many folks, though, will quickly belt out their knowledge on the Lancia Rally 037. It’s a hardcore road-going variant of the Lancia Group B rally car of the 1980s. While it is street legal, it’s far from a daily driver. You won’t find any creature comforts in this thing!
Currently listed for sale on Bring A Trailer, this Lancia Rally 037 is an extremely rare beast. This is because Group B rally only required manufacturers to build 200 cars for homologation. This particular Rally 037 is chassis number 029. At the time of writing, the auction has already amassed a bid of $204,000. Surely, it’s going to climb a lot higher than that!
Not for the Faint of Heart
One glance at the interior of the Lancia Rally 037 will remind you that this isn’t a car built for casual cruising around town. Instead, this is a full-blown Lancia Group B rally car that just happens to be road legal. Which, if you’re unfamiliar, most rally cars are. The majority of rally governing bodies dictate that competing cars must have functioning head and tail lights, turn signals, a horn, and more.
The Lancia Rally 037 is effectively a tube-chassis racecar. It features a body design by the legendary Pininfarina that’s made of Kevlar-reinforced fiberglass. The legendary design is notable by its overall body shape reminiscent of the legendary Lancia Stratos. It has notable massive air intakes on either side of the car and a double-double roof. Perhaps the most iconic component, though, is the massive ducktail spoiler out back. This example, in Evolution II spec, is identifiable by its lack of a rear bumper.
Power comes from a Fiat-Abarth 2.1-liter DOHC inline four-cylinder. It uses a Volumex roots-style supercharger and has a water injection system and Bosch mechanical fuel injection. It also uses a dry-sump oil system. This setup is good for about 320 horsepower, which is plenty for a rally car that only weighs a hair over 2,500 pounds. Additionally, the engine was rebuilt in 1998.
The Last of A Dying Breed
Power from that engine is delivered through a ZF five-speed manual transmission solely to the rear wheels. The Lancia Rally 037 was the final rear-wheel-drive car to with the World Rally Championship constructor’s title in 1983. Come 1984, the outright obliteration delivered by the legendary Audi Quattro would put the final nail in the coffin for rear-wheel drive cars in the WRC championship.
Included in this sale is a host of awesome paperwork. It includes an FIA Historic Vehicle Identity Form and plenty of pictures and documents from previous owners. It was also featured in a book entitled Lancia 037: The Development & Rally History of a World Champion.
Though this vehicle is virtually impossible to predict a price on, it’s certainly one to watch closely. After all, it’s not often you’ll see something like this come up for sale.
Photos: Bring A Trailer