2022 Retropower Stratos HF – Classified of the Week

Can we all just take a moment please to revel in the absolutely incredible visuals on display here? The fact that this is a stunning bespoke Stratos utilising the very best parts available is one thing, but the way it’s been photographed is the icing on the cake, and this Stratos is well and truly the embodiment of the very best that feline bedtime attire has to offer.

We know when a certain classic strikes a chord here at Car & Classic simply by the amount of comments, shares and mentions said car or bike gets. Everyone piles on board to appreciate it, regardless of whether they’re a VW guy, a Bentley aficionado or a ’90s modern classic fanatic, and this Stratos has caused quite the stir. We’ve all been drinking this beauty in since we first clapped eyes on it last week.

The original Lancia Stratos has certainly earned its status as a bona fide legend, not just on the rally stages but in the automotive world as a whole, and every petrolhead can appreciate this absolute weapon for what it is, but the road cars that were built to homologate the thing so Lancia could take it racing were a little, how shall we say, incommodious. Visceral and exciting? Absolutely, but comfortable and easy to live with? Not so much. As rare as hen’s teeth to boot, actually finding an original example is not to mention nigh on impossible.

Well that’s where this stunning Retropower evocation comes in. The Leicestershire-based company behind this beauty brings unique automotive projects from concept to reality, providing a design and development service with unrivalled efficiency. Whether it be a high level classic car restoration or a one-off restomod, Retropower can bring your automotive fantasies to fruition, and that’s exactly what they’ve done with this Lancia.

Available from our good friends at Keep, this Stratos may look the part due to its ListerBell Automotive chassis and body kit, which many consider to be among the best out there in terms of accuracy, but underneath it’s a completely different animal; one that’s not only imbued with an inherent ferocity, but also one that can be tempered and tamed depending on the situation.

You might think that slotting in the truly iconic ‘Busso’ 24v V6 Alfa Romeo engine would provide more than enough power for the super lightweight Stratos, and we would agree, but Retropower weren’t convinced and so they strapped on an Eaton M112 supercharger for a laugh, bumping peak power to 400bhp on 1 bar of boost. A Quaife-fettled and strengthened Toyota MR2 gearbox ensures all of that magnificent power successfully makes its way to the rear wheels and on to the road, making for what is essentially a wedge-shaped rocket ship that drives exponentially better than any original model Stratos could ever hope to.

Speaking of the original model, Gandini’s iconic design has been retained whilst having been sympathetically updated and modified by Retropower, creating a legitimate one-of-one, bespoke machine that takes clear inspiration from the Stratos Zero concept car that was styled by Bertone. The interior, too, has been improved upon and modernised, blending the original car’s unforgettable aesthetic with today’s technology. The ‘chocolate bar’ seats have been re-profiled for some much welcome improved support and comfort and the dash has been furnished with a 9” digital display and tastefully recovered in the finest Alcantara.

Some additional tasty tech has been included to compliment the updated mechanicals and the car comes with such creature comforts as air conditioning, a Bluetooth stereo and modern electronic instrumentation, amongst other updates, all of which addresses that lack of any sense of luxury we mentioned earlier, with the end result being a much more usable road going rally car.

Perfect for rearranging your insides at the weekend but still whisking you to work on Monday without feeling like you need to say a prayer before strapping yourself in, this is quite the machine ladies and gentlemen. So, if you’re after a unique and modern take on one of the greatest rally cars of all time that retains the original car’s design and very ethos of those heady hey days of motorsport whilst still being a perfectly usable road car, then this Retropower Stratos is just the ticket. It just so happens to be desktop background worthy, too.