Lancia Rally 037
The 037 is the last rear-wheel-drive car to win the World Rally Championship for manufacturers (1983) — Abarth's supercharged, tube-framed answer to the quattro, and one of the most coveted competition Lancias ever built.
History
Faced with Audi's four-wheel-drive revolution, Lancia and Abarth bet against the tide. The Rally 037, developed under Sergio Limone with Pininfarina bodywork, used the central monocoque section of the Beta Montecarlo with tubular subframes front and rear, a mid-mounted 2.0-litre four — supercharged rather than turbocharged, for instant throttle response — and sublime balance in place of traction.
The gamble paid off once, gloriously: in 1983, with Walter Röhrl and Markku Alén and team principal Cesare Fiorio's legendary tactical ruthlessness, Lancia beat Audi to the manufacturers' title — the last such crown ever won by a two-wheel-drive car. Evolution 2 brought 325 hp and wider tracks for 1984, but by then the S4's 4WD future was inevitable and the 037's front-line career closed in 1985.
Around 200 Stradale homologation cars were built alongside the works and customer Evo racers. Genuine works Martini cars sit at the top of the historic rally market; Stradales have appreciated sharply, and the model headlines every major historic rally gathering from Rallylegend to Eifel Rallye Festival.
Palmarès
The 1983 WRC manufacturers' championship crowns the record, alongside victories at Monte Carlo (Röhrl, 1983), Corsica, Acropolis, Sanremo and New Zealand — plus European Rally Championship titles and national crowns. Alén's 1983–84 campaigns added a string of podiums that kept Lancia in the fight deep into the 4WD era.
What to check before you buy
Abarth's chassis records (numbers in the ZLA151AR0 sequence) and period entry lists are the provenance backbone — works cars, customer Evos and Stradales occupy different price universes, and several Stradales were converted to rally spec later, which honest documentation should state. Check the central monocoque for corrosion and accident history where the tubular subframes attach, verify the supercharger and Abarth 232 engine's originality, and treat 'ex-works' claims with forensic suspicion: the real ones are all known.
Did you know
- The 037 was homologated with the Volumex supercharger specifically to avoid turbo lag on tight stages — Röhrl rated its throttle response above any turbo rival's.
- Fiorio's 1983 title campaign included famously cunning tactics — like entering extra cars purely to control road positions — now studied as rally strategy's high art.
- Chassis development was led by Sergio Limone, who went on to engineer the Delta S4 and Delta Integrale — three eras of Lancia legend from one drawing office.
In the marketplace now
View all →No exact Lancia Rally 037 listed right now — here is closely related machinery on the market.
