Lancia Rally 037

Lore & Background

Development of the 037 began in 1980 to comply with the new FIA Group B regulations, which allowed cars to race with relatively few homologation models being built. Abarth, now part of the Lancia-Fiat family, did most of the design work, incorporating styling cues from 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 project manager 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 both entered cars retired due to gearbox issues. The 1982 season was plagued with retirements, but the 037 achieved several wins including its first win at the Pace Rally in the UK. The 1983 season was considerably more successful: Lancia took the 1983 World Rally Championship Constructors' title with Walter Röhrl and Markku Alén as principal drivers, despite serious competition from the 4WD Audi Quattro. For the 1984 Constructors' title defence, Lancia introduced an Evolution 2 version 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. Alén collected the final 037 win, and the sole victory for the E2 model, on the 1984 Tour De Corse, before it was pensioned off in favour of the supercharged and turbocharged 4WD Delta S4 for the season-ending RAC Rally in Great Britain. Driver Attilio Bettega died in an 037 crash in 1985. The 037 made its final appearance in the 1986 Safari Rally by the Martini Lancia team, entered in place of the Delta S4 due to the team running out of time to develop the S4 for that rally.

Reader's Guide

The Lancia 037 holds a unique place in rally history as the last rear-wheel drive car to win the World Rally Championship, achieving the manufacturers' title in 1983 against the emerging dominance of four-wheel drive. Its development under Group B regulations, which required only 200 road-going examples for homologation, allowed Lancia to create a purpose-built competition machine loosely based on the Lancia Montecarlo but sharing only the center section. The car's mid-engine layout was retained, but the engine was turned 90 degrees from transverse to longitudinal, and the body panels were made from Kevlar. The 037 is notable for using a supercharger rather than a turbocharger to eliminate turbo lag and improve throttle response. Despite the introduction of the more powerful Evolution 2 model in 1984, the 037 could not overcome the four-wheel drive competition from Audi and later Peugeot. Its legacy is defined not only by its championship success but also by its status as the final rear-wheel drive car to triumph in the World Rally Championship, marking the end of an era in the sport. The car also saw use outside the WRC, including an entry in the 1994 All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship, where it finished 12th overall.

Did You Know?

• The car's project code, SE037, became the name by which it was commonly known.
• An ex-works 037 was entered in the 1994 All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship, finishing 12th overall.

Engineering Philosophy & Technical Architecture

When Lancia began developing the 037 in 1980 to meet the new FIA Group B regulations, Abarth—by then part of the Lancia-Fiat group—handled most of the design work, borrowing styling cues from its storied 1950s and 1960s race cars, most notably the double-bubble roofline. The project united Pininfarina, Abarth, Dallara, and engineer Sergio Limone under one roof. The car shared only its central tub with the Lancia Montecarlo; every body panel and mechanical component was substantially different. Steel subframes anchored the front and rear, while most bodywork was built from Kevlar. The mid-engine layout was kept but rotated from transverse to longitudinal, giving designers more suspension freedom and moving engine weight forward. Double-wishbone suspension ran at both ends, with twin rear shock absorbers to handle high-speed off-road stresses. At the heart sat a supercharged four-cylinder based on the Fiat Abarth 131 rally engine, a long-stroke Twin Cam block with a four-valve head. Lancia chose a supercharger over a turbocharger specifically to eliminate lag and sharpen throttle response. Power grew from 265 to 280 hp, and the Evolution 2's enlarged 2.1-litre displacement delivered 325 hp. A ZF transaxle completed the driveline.

WRC Career & Championship

The 037 debuted at the 1982 Rally Costa Smeralda, where both entered cars retired with gearbox problems. The 1982 season was plagued by retirements, yet the car still secured several wins, including its first at the UK's Pace Rally. The 1983 campaign transformed everything. With Germany's Walter Röhrl and Finland's Markku Alén as principal drivers, Lancia claimed the World Rally Championship Constructors' title, fending off serious challenge from the four-wheel-drive Audi Quattro. Both Lancia drivers missed the season's final round; Röhrl still held a mathematical shot at the drivers' crown, but that prize went to Audi's veteran Finn Hannu Mikkola. For the 1984 title defence, Lancia fielded the Evolution 2 with increased engine output, but it could not halt the four-wheel-drive tide, losing both championships to Audi. Alén's final 037 victory—and the sole win of the E2—came at the 1984 Tour de Corse. In 1985, the Peugeot 205 T16 outclassed the 037 in Lancia's last works season. Its final competitive outing was the 1986 Safari Rally, where Martini Lancia entered it in place of the Delta S4, which lacked development time for that event.

Legacy & Historical Significance

The Lancia 037 holds a singular place in rally history: it was the last rear-wheel-drive car to win the World Rally Championship. In Group B, it retained the rear-drive layout nearly universal before the era, and virtually every successful rally car that followed adopted four-wheel drive, making the 037 the final representative of that tradition. Three versions were built: the Evoluzione 1, Evoluzione 2, and the Stradale road car. The Stradale, made between 1982 and 1984, existed to satisfy Group B homologation's 200-car minimum; 207 are known to have been produced. It carried an Abarth-developed DOHC 2.0-litre 16-valve straight-four and was sold as its own model, not a Montecarlo. The legacy is shadowed by tragedy: Attilio Bettega, a principal driver, died in a 037 crash in 1985. Yet the car also shone elsewhere—António Rodrigues won the 1984 Falperra International Hill Climb in one. As late as 1994, ROSS Competition entered an ex-works 037 in Japan's All Japan GT Championship; Naohiro Furuya finished 12th overall, seven laps behind the winning Porsche 962C.

The Stradale & Homologation

Group B regulations required manufacturers to produce a minimum number of road-going cars before their race versions could compete. For the 037, that threshold was 200 verifiable examples. Lancia met and slightly exceeded the requirement, producing 207 Stradale cars between 1982 and 1984. The name "Stradale" is Italian for "road-going" or "for the road," and the car was marketed and sold as a distinct model in its own right, not as a variant of the Lancia Montecarlo (known as the Scorpion in North American markets) from which it loosely derived. Both the street and race versions of the 037 were constructed using the same methods, meaning the car does not qualify as a true silhouette racer—the kind of vehicle where a race car is essentially a road car with a different skin. The Stradale was equipped with an Abarth-developed DOHC 2.0-litre (1,995 cc) 16-valve straight-four engine. The project code SE037, assigned by Abarth, became the car's popular name. Three main versions emerged: the Evoluzione 1, Evoluzione 2, and the Stradale. Development began in 1980, with 200 road-going models completed before the first WRC entry in 1982.