The Legendary Lancia Rally “037”
Even though it left the sport over three decades ago, Lancia remains to this day the manufacturer that won the most championship titles in WRC’s history. Each of these ten titles has a remarkable story behind it, yet Lancia’s 1983 triumph is perhaps the most fascinating one.
Published in
5 min readOct 29, 2022
It is a classic “David vs. Goliath” tale, whose protagonist is the mid-engined Lancia Rally, better known by its project number, 037: the last two-wheel-drive car ever to win the World Rally Championship.
The winds of change
Our story begins in 1980, a truly seminal year in rallying history.
FISA, the international governing body for motorsport, devised a new regulatory framework that would take effect from the 1982 season, based around the so-called Group A, B, and N.
Homologation in Group B required the production of just 200 road-going cars for sale to the public, while a further 20 cars would be so-called “evolution” models that maintained the base car’s general characteristics but were quite extensively modified for racing purposes.
