Matt Farah Drives Iconic Lancia Stratos Group 4 Rally Car

Geared for an extremely tight rally course, the Ferrari-Powered Lancia Stratos tops out at 55 mph.

The Group 4 rally cars are progressively becoming a big part of car culture as new models aim to pay homage to their roots. Whether it be Audi sports cars for Ford hatchbacks, the allure of rally racing is strong nowadays. There’s no more notable player in the world of classic rally racing than the Lancia Stratos HF.

This video, courtesy of The Smoking Tire, shows the one and only Matt Farah getting the once-in-a-lifetime chance of piloting a factory-original, race-prepped Lancia Stratos. The intricate-looking racer is even more intricate to operate, with the engine starter switch placed outside the cockpit (for the race crew to start it).

This particular Stratos is only one of 500 models ever produced, but more importantly, it’s one of 25 factory racers built in Italy. That means that this unit was never transformed into a race car, it was built that way from the very beginning. Behind the seats lays a 2.4-liter Ferrari V6 transplanted from the Dino, otherwise dubbed the “Dino 246.” The motor mates to a 5-speed dogleg gearbox which is prepped specifically for tight rally racing.

In fact, the gearing is so short on this bad boy, that the top speed is around 55 mph. We can imagine this would be the perfect setup for the Rally de Monte Carlo or something of that sort. While Farah’s drive is relatively “Meh,” it certainly it doesn’t take away from the magic of the iconic Lancia Stratos HF.

Enjoy!