Lancia’s Killer B. Credit Petrolicious
By John R. Wright
If too much horsepower is just about right, then Lancia got it just about right with its Lancia S4 rally car. How to describe an all-out racing car used for rallying, one which according to one source would accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 2.3 seconds…on gravel! The Lancia could accomplish this feat as its engine was twin-charged. It was turbocharged and supercharged, the supercharger cutting out when the turbocharger had spooled up to provide sufficient power. Normally set up the engine would produce outlandish horsepower – some sources say 560 horsepower but Lancia engineers tested an engine at 5 bars of boost and achieved around a 1000 horsepower, more than any sane man or woman could use in a rallying event.