Recreating the iconic Stratos with LB Specialist
The Lancia Stratos has such a distinctive design, it’s probably one of the most iconic rally cars in history. The original was launched in 1974, the Lister Bell (LB Specialist) STR is their interpretation of the world championship winning car from the 70’s. The Lister Bell STR is an immaculately built automotive tribute, and it really is making people struggle to justify going for the real deal.
The moment LB Specialist’s customer saw the Stratos replica in real life back in 2017, he knew it was everything he wanted in a car. Back then, this customer owned an Ultima so he was just strolling at the kit car show looking for accessories for his Ultima. It just so happens there were several Stratos’ at the show on that particular day. He was thrilled, and impulsively decided it was something he needed in his life. He spoke to the experts at LB Specialist to see if it was possible at all for him to own one, he just pointed at the one donning the iconic Alitalia livery, with all the decorations on it, ‘Can I have one?’ that’s where it all started.
Although the customer didn’t have all those mechanical skills or interest in getting his hands dirty that people might expect a Stratos owner may have, he previously has also owned a Westfield Megablade, Caterham Superlight R300 and of course, his Ultima. He was intrigued by everything that was on the Stratos replica, it was everything he had envisioned in a rally car, the lights, square arches, roof scoops, the flame spitting exhaust, all the dials on the dashboard, etc. After speaking to LB Specialist, they basically offered him all the bespoke details he asked for.
The customer went for the Group 4 replica with the Alitalia livery painted of Car number 4 from the 1977 Tour de Corse. He went for a 3.2 litre Alfa Romeo V6 Busso on individual throttle bodies with a programmable ECU giving him the noise (and the power) he was looking for. As per the originals, he went for the Group 4 rally left hand dashboard (LHD). He went for a big brake upgrade: double adjustable Nitron suspension, roof scoop, chin spoiler, quad driving light pod with twin lower fog lights. He has also opted in for a decat exhaust system with custom manifold. This build weighs 980kg with 322bhp, ‘adequate power’ as he said.
We worked with LB Specialist to get the exact, bespoke aesthetics and performance that the customer was looking for in his STR. The full exhaust was ceramic coated in our Primary Black™ finish, which can significantly increase car performance by retaining the exhaust temperatures within the system, as well as ensuring the heat doesn’t dissipate into the engine bay. Our Primary Black™ ceramic coating can reduce up to 25% surface temperatures and is suitable for applications up to 900°C. He was looking for an attractive matt black finish on his exhaust system, which our Primary Black™ was able to fulfil this aesthetics requirement. The coating is only 0.3mm in thickness, which is also perfectly in-keeping with the Stratos’ lightweight nature. With the modern upgrades made by LB Specialist, he thought the driving experience was excellent.
We were delighted to work with LB Specialist on this particular project, everything about the car looked absolutely staggering including the interiors too! We would forgive you if it was mistaken for the real thing. Feel free to drop us a message if you have a similar project that might be suffering from heat management issues!