NEW Stratos - The Weird Ferrari-Powered Rally Car | Bumper 2 Bumper

(car speeding up) - You may not know this car yet, but legends never die. And sometimes, like now, they are reborn. (upbeat music) There's nothing like this. It is made not only for the street, but also for dirt, gravel and snow. It's an amazing supercar that you can drive. And we'll see how she compares to his famous father. It's time to move from fenders to roof spoiler, from

bumper

to

bumper

on the new Stratos. (strong wind) (upbeat music) You can't talk about the best

rally

cars in the world without mentioning the Flyin' Wedge, the Lancia Stratos.

The Stratos was the first car built specifically for

rally

racing. It won three consecutive WRC championships in the mid-70s. And it seems so strange, that when we storm Area 51 on September 20, you could probably drive up to the gate and be greeted to enter. Production of the Lancia Stratos ended in 1975 with 492 cars built. In 2008, billionaire businessman and gentleman racer Michael Stoschek decided that he wanted a new Stratos. He had a few extra euros on hand, so he said, "You know what?" I think I'm going to go ahead and make one." It should be good. And the first prototypes were developed and built by famous Italian coachbuilders, Pininfarina, in 2010.

Based on the design of a fellow Stratos fan, Chris Hrabalek. They planned to build several new Strati, but Pininfarina's former partner Ferrari didn't like the idea of ​​her best friend colluding with some other super exotic car maker Ferrari, do you have an opinion on anything Pininfarina didn't want to upset? the mane of the prancing horse, that's why no more cars were built. Today there is a new Italian coachbuilder in town. First new Stratos project at Pininfarina, he left the company and opened his own workshop. His name is Paolo Garella. call Mani (cough) Manifattura Automili (cough) Manifattura Automobili Torino.

MAT doesn't give a flying fox what Ferrari thinks. They've already started building 25 of these new Stratoses. Mat is a cool guy. They asked Lancia if they wanted to participate. But the brand long ago lost its sporty vibe and they just said, "No." After all these years, they didn't even trademark the name Stratos. Their loss is Stoschek and MAT's gain. Because now we have this amazing car with the same original name. Covered with the same sick original logo. (upbeat music) When you first see it, there's absolutely no doubt that it's a Stratos. A handful of companies have made more or less exact replicas of the Lancia Stratos over the years.

But modern retro is in right now, baby. This new Stratos takes all the cues from the original, but like current muscle cars, it is a totally new version. Obviously, it has the same general shape. But, everywhere there would have been a Lancia badge before, there is now a Stratos badge. The proportions reflect the original, with everything a little enlarged. That's because this is built on a Ferrari F430 Scuderia. And if you want new Stratos, you must BYOF. And I don't know if you've been checking out Craigslist, buying F430 blenders lately. But I have. And as you may have guessed, the cost of entry is not cheap.

In addition, MAT charges an additional 600,000 euros for dividing your Ferrari. So you're looking at more than $800,000 for your limited production, one of 25 rally supercars. Yes, they turn it into something completely different, but for $800,000, you can turn a lot of different types of cars into a rally car. As I said, MAT takes your Ferrari and then cuts it into pieces. The aluminum chassis has a much shorter wheelbase, reduced by almost twenty centimeters. Next, they weld an FIA-certified steel roll cage and deliver a new full carbon fiber body. The end result is a wheelbase about five inches longer than the original Stratos, which falls right between the new Miata and the BRZ/86 twins for reference.

The entire car is 13 inches shorter than the F430, but 18 inches longer than the original Lancia. It's also about eight inches wider than the old Stratos, which is crazy. Because this thing is not big. The original Stratos had ♪ headlights pop, pop, pop, pop, pop up and down. ♪ But those are no longer allowed due to pedestrian safety regulations. Thus, the new Stratos has these geometrically shaped units, flush with the hood. The front part is quite pointed and includes enough of a lower lip to be considered a splitter. Now, in my opinion, the look is a little more traditional than the original car.

That he had that crazy, sharp nose that cut your legs at the knees. They should have called him a "knee splitter." I'm right? (screaming) The hood line of the new Stratos is so low and narrow that the large front fenders wrap around the top. The entire front is actually a large clamshell, as is the back. The 19-inch center-lock wheels are inspired by a classic five-split-spoke design. The rear end has extra aggressive flares to cover the thick 305s that protrude quite a bit from the curved sides of the car. Those rear wheels are crazy, have traction issues, and are 11 inches wide.

That's as wide as this old piece of letter-sized paper, and it's long. It's also as wide as the Dodge Demon's racing wheels. Those guys are a dumb kid. The windshield wraps around the cabin and is framed by narrow A-pillars, giving the driver the best possible forward view. Which is something I think many of us are sometimes missing in our lives. Eye on the prize. The body lines echo the UFO look of the original Stratizes. With high beltline, small side window and rounded door trims. And you can't have a Stratos without the usual roof hoop. That's actually a spoiler, and on this new car, there are intake vents over a heater on the sides to suck air into the mid-mounted engine just behind it.

That's a trick the new car has that the old one doesn't. "You know what dad, I'm better than you." (upbeat music) That's a screaming Ferrari power plant hidden behind the well (beep), homes. Like in the old car. Only this time it's a 4.3-liter V8, instead of a 2.4-liter V6. There's more power baby. More power. Lift the rear deck and you'll see custom carbon fiber intake manifolds, revealing the S-type Stratos. It's been tuned with custom intake and exhaust systems and a new ECU to generate 540 HRSPRS. There are 40 more amateur horses than the Scuderia. With a curb weight of around 2800 lbs.

That's good for going from zero to 60, in 3.3 seconds. Which is that fast. (finger click) You are at 60. Now MAT can also adjust it for 600 HRSPRS, if 540 is not enough for you. So like, I don't know, you're a psychopath. With the engine in the middle and a short wheelbase, the new Stratos has quite agile handling. But the weight distribution is quite even: 44% front and 56% rear. Which makes it theoretically balanced and responsive. The large rear spoiler juts out over the top of the taillights, which are simple round lenses surrounded by mesh. Drop lower and the dual exhaust tips protrude from the body, past a heat-protective wrap.

The carbon fiber and aluminum construction, combined with the steel roll cage, gives this new Stratos additional rigidity. That rigidity in the mid-engine design gives it the feline agility you need to race around tight corners with a crowd on one side and a cliff on the other end. Like, "Oh no, there's a tree." And your boy says, "It's a golden six race." (car beeps) And as I mentioned before, the cage is already FIA legal. So, in theory, you can just hop on this thing and start recovering. To me, that sounds very expensive and very scary. So let's take a look inside.

The interior looks like the business. Featuring racing-style bucket seats and four-point Sparco racing harnesses. This seat is extremely narrow and I don't think it was made for people like me and my muscular son Nolan. The upholstery is a grippy, suede-like material that attaches with Velcro to the seats in the corners. If you're not already into it. Which I am currently. I'm not sure I can get out of this car. If this new Stratos has seats this small and close together right now, then the Lancia drivers and co-drivers of the 1970s must have been the size of Italian elves.

Mama Mia, take your hands off me, you lucky meatballs. Like me, the steering wheel is thicker than normal. And it looks like it's made of carbon fiber. Which is it. Yes, carbon fiber. And it has suede grips right where your hands should be, at three past nine. No flat-bottom steering wheel here, boy. Because those can't slip through your little fingers when you're all crossed, sliding sideways through a rally stage. And the best part is this bright red button on the left. Start the engine. Although it also comes with a real key. (car starting) Sounds great though. (car speeding up) Oh, yeah.

It's a Ferrari engine, yes. The gauges look really cool and old school and are mounted on a flat piece of aluminum. And there are no big screens anywhere, showing you how many Gs you're pulling or what's playing on your serious XM radio. There's not even a radio in this, I don't think. If you can afford this, you can choose between a modified six-speed automatic transmission, with carbon fiber paddles on the steering wheel that click and shift in 60 milliseconds, or, if you're cool like me, opt for the six-speed manual, with a closed gear lever. Because we like the '70s vibes.

Rally cars now often have black felt or flocked dashboards, which eliminate sun glare on the windshield. And the new Stratos gives it a special touch, with stitched black suede. One of the most interesting parts of this whole car is that the carbon fiber door panels have a huge indentation for storing helmets between rally stages. As in the original car. There is literally nothing else on the door panel. Now, whether you drive it or not, this car is designed to drive. Everything is totally faithful to the old formula. Newly updated and modern. (upbeat music) This new Stratos does beautiful justice to the original Lancia Group Four WRC legend.

We can only hope to see more of these things, tearing up back roads and throwing rocks at rallies like they were created to do. And not sitting in some rich old man's fancy barn. Thanks everyone for watching bumper to bumper. If you didn't see him, then he'd be a

weird

o sitting next to a car, talking to his friends. We have many new shows this summer, if you don't want to miss any, be sure to ring that bell. Hit the subscribe button, which is right here. We have a new program that I'm very excited about. It's called High Low.

Nolan and I bought identical 350Zs. His got cheap pieces on eBay and mine got really nice pieces. He is currently on the other thing of social media. Go to donutmedia.com and get new products. Follow me on Instagram @jamespumphrey, follow Donut @donutmedia. I love you. (cough)