Italian motorsport company Kimera Automobili has unveiled one of the cooler restomods we’ve seen lately: a modern, road-legal take on one of the baddest rally cars ever, the Lancia 037. The Abarth and Pininfarina-designed 037 won the 1983 FIA Group B World Rally title, and was the last rear-drive car to win in the WRC.
Kimera calls its Evo37 a “tribute to those legendary cars of the 1980s protagonists of the WRC.” The company said its tribute car takes the classic rally monster and brings it up to the highest performance levels possible, “with modern knowledge and technology,” including 3D scanning, CAD, CAE, and rapid prototyping.
Kimera says that while modern, its project has a “deep respect for the past.” Indeed, engineers and suppliers who worked on the original Lancia contributed to Kimera’s car, including two-time WRC champion Miki Biasion. The car will make its public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July before customer deliveries begin in September.
Like the 037, the Evo37 is based around the Lancia Beta Montecarlo’s central section, with new tube frame sections added at the front and rear. Other changes include new Öhlins adjustable shocks, new Brembo performance brakes, and sporty Pirellis.
The turbo-four is based on the original 2.0 liter with none other than Claudio Lombardi—the famed Italian engineer who oversaw Lancia’s motorsport powertrain program in the 1980s and the Ferrari Formula 1 team in the 1990s—supervising the modifications (the original engine was supercharged). Kimera says the engine produces 498 hp and 406 lb-ft, theoretically good enough to hit 62 mph in around four seconds.
The car looks pretty much like the original. Among other changes, the famous quad headlamps are now LEDs, and there are new wheels and a redesigned rear decklid. The interior’s carbon fiber and Alcantara upholstery are modern touches, but the four-point racing harness, analog gauges, and hydraulic handbrake not to the past.
The car starts at around $585,000 and Kimera is only building 37 of them. So hurry!
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