The 542bhp New Stratos Will Finally Be Built

This might just be the one car we want above all others on display at the Geneva Motor Show: the re-reborn ‘Lancia’ Stratos.

Not actually a Lancia at all, this homage to the legendary and famously spiky sports car was based on a shortened Ferrari 430 chassis with the same car’s screaming 4.3-litre V8 amidships, but that production model was blocked by Ferrari itself in 2011.

We don’t know quite what the new iteration looks like under the skin yet. Manifattura Automobili Torino (MAT) says it has acquired the rights to build the New Stratos, originally envisaged by German businessman Michael Stoschek, and has all the necessary permissions in place.

All we were told at the show is that the output is 542bhp. That’s 10bhp more than the 430-powered concept made, but we understand that the Ferrari drivetrain is still being used. It’s just that different companies are now involved, and Ferrari has no power to stop them making the conversion.

Naturally it’s much bigger than the dinky original. The carbonfibre shell is 4181mm long, 1971mm wide and 1240mm high. That reportedly helps make it a porky 267kg heavier than the first of its kind. It doesn’t stop us wanting one, mind you.

MAT is planning three versions, according to Autocar, spanning a ‘GT racer,’ a daily driver and a ‘Safari’ model, which we really hope has smaller steel wheels, a roof rack with a spare tyre and lifted suspension, full rally-style.

Prices will start at something like £490,000, plus the price of the Ferrari 430 donor car. You can order one now, if you like, and if your 430 is right-hand drive, so will your New Stratos be.