Lancia Stratos zero

A touch screen instrument panel in 1970? Well, the idea of one anyway. The multi-jointed steering wheel and front entrance makes one wonder who at Bertone was driving a BMW Isetta…Photo by Evan Klein

Review by Pete Vack
Photos by Evan Klein/@evankleinfilms

Hard to believe, but apparently Lancia Stratos Zero: The Eternal Futurist by Gautam Sen is the only published book about the Lancia Stratos HF Zero, and the author is by far the best person to write it, with impeccable and impressive credentials. A Vice President with FIVA, Gautam Sen has authored several award-winning books: Marcello Gandini: Maestro of Design, Ballot, The Bertone Collection, Tom Tjaarda: Master of Proportions, Lamborghini: At the Cutting Edge of Design, Bugatti: The Italian Decade, and Alfa Romeo SZ Coda Tronca: The Art of Conservation, When Wedge had the Edge (all by Dalton Watson Fine Books).

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Striking in 1971, and no less effective today. Driving it was unworldly.

Story and Photos by Roberto Motta

[Fourteen years ago, in 2008, our Italian correspondent Roberto Motta had a chance to drive the Stratos Zero. It is doubtful the same opportunities will be offered again. Below is his report on driving the magnificent show car, which we republished in 2016, eight years after the original version. In light of the recent activity accorded the Zero, we think it appropriate to present Motta’s engaging article once again. In an earlier article, Motta also explains how the Zero came to the attention of the powers that be at Lancia: Italian UFOs and the Stratos Ed.]

In February 1971, Beppe Panicco drove the Stratos Zero through the streets of Milan and stopped on the square of the “Duomo”, the cathedral of Milan. Panicco had to stop as there were so many people crowding around the car to get a glimpse of that strange object. Many thought there was a UFO in Milan! The Stratos tied up traffic in every direction, the police arrived, and Panicco finally succeeded in driving between the legs of the onlookers.

Would it be half as fun for us, more than 35 years later? [Read more…] about Driving the Lancia Zero