In the Driver's seat - Rallye 037

"We will pick you up at 8.30" announced the man from Lancia on the telephone. It was December 2 1985 and the Lancia factory had booked myself and journalist Mike Kable into the Jolly Ligure Hotel in central Turin after we had been unable to get a room at Luigi Capuzzo's Hotel Crimea, traditional hostelry for Lancisti in the Italian automotive capital. A medical conference saw the friendly hotel fully booked. Paola Astore, from Lancia's Press office soon had us directed to the Jolly Hotel where he joined us for drinks before meeting up with the head of Lancia's PR Department, Mr. Manfredini, for what is always an outstanding meal when in Turin. It was a well known restaurant down a little street that ran at right angles to the main thoroughfare. The next morning our courtesy car was a Thema 2 litre ie and the driver quickly challenged the Turin traffic to whisk us across to Abarth at Corso Marche 38. This was the original Abarth factory building, often seen as tile background to pictures of Abarth cars from the sixties. Here we were met by Dott.

Ingienero Claudio Lombardi, then Director of the Experimental Division of Lancia. Following a briefing session telling us about current and future developments, he asked "Would you like to drive some of our special cars?" He knew very well what the answer was going to be and immediately we were hurried outside to be transported to the nearby test track.

Awaiting us on this clear but very cold December morning was a Martini liveried Rallye 037, registered number TO Y67908. still bearing the rally plates, numbers and advertising stickers from the recent San Remo Rallye. For that event it had been driven by Markku Alen and Ilkka Kivimaki and had finished in fourth place. The chassis number was ZLAl5lARO - 00000160, and the DGM number 507180M. Jumping into the left hand drive car found a very stark cockpit, obviously set up for rallying and it even contained some of the last days pace notes from that event. There was no ignition key, just a switch for activating the electrics and a large soft covered button in a cup that when pressed firmly started the supercharged engine. These essential switches were housed on the small console between the seats. The engine fired immediately. The noise, a combination of rattles and whirrs, was considerable, even on idle. As the throttle was blipped the scream of the supercharger increased to an extremely pleasant tingling degree, giving every indication that there were 310 strong horsepowers awaiting to propel the white, red and blue striped little car. In fact the car was larger than 1 had expected and the rear tyres much larger than I remembered from pilots of the cars during events. Walter Rostering, the mechanic attached to this car, explained as best he could with his little English and my meagre Italian, that the tyre size, tread and width varied considerably from event to event and also within stages in any event. The Pirelli tyres on the car on the day size 95 155/80VR16 M+S on the front and 92 215/80VR16 M+S on the rear, were tarmac high speed as had been used on many stages in the San Remo. They were tubeless and had heavily ribbed sidewalls.

The five speed gearbox had first nearest on the left rear with the normal H pattern for the other four gears. Reverse was above first with a neatly designed gate lock to prevent accidental engagement. The movements in the box were quite difficult with very short throws and a close gate, and the gears were very close ratio. The ratios in the ZF box were first 1.57, second 1.44, third 1.3, fourth 1.125 and fifth 1.0. The clutch was lighter than expected although still heavier than the clutch in a road going Lancia. But the acceleration was just unbelievable. An ignition cut out, set to 8000 rpm, meant that you were working very quickly under maximum acceleration, almost to the point of changing gears as soon as you engaged the next gear.

Lombardi explained afterwards that the car accelerated as quickly as a Formula One Ferrari up to 180 kmph, which was reached in 100 metres. It took 5.62 sec to accelerate to l00kmph (with Markku Alen driving). although the factory mechanics claimed that one mechanic, Sergio, was as quick as the Scandinavian, but was only employed as a test driver. In spite of this prodigious thrust forward the car was very docile even in fifth gear, as long as you didn't labour the engine. The tremendous torque was what really blew your mind, the engine just having this "power" from very low revs. The huge Supercharger, marked with a plate type R18/IE No 002, with Abarth prominently cast into the top housing, was the reason for this useable power. With the car in fourth gear it would pull away from a corner and rocket up the next stretch of climbing road. The supercharger only came into use on maximum acceleration where it boosted to 0.8 bar. The brakes were equally fabulous pulling the 037 up straight from very high speeds, with no shudder or diving from the front of the car. Taking the car out on the road showed how really 'pleasant' it was to drive, if a little noisy in the cabin, what with the supercharger only inches from your head and the scream of the straight cut gears in the ZF box. The brakes squealed a bit once they were being used but this disappeared as they got hotter. The powerful retardation however, did not diminish, no matter how hard you punished them. The handling, once you got used to the short wheelbase and all that power. was delightful. If you backed off through a corner the car wanted to go straight, so you learnt to throw the car into corners and keep the power on. It displayed a tendency to spin easily if you did something foolish but it was easy to control, except at quite high speeds. It was rewarding to drive and despite only living with the car for just under two hours, it gave you a high degree of satisfaction. knowing that this was a world championship winning rally car.

I think Lancia were very generous in allowing me the undisputed privilege to drive this particular car. All too soon we were forced by time limits to return to Corso Marche, this time to view the new Delta S4. Then we joined the Lancia people Tor a sumptuous lunch at the ristorante Papedelli, hidden away in the back streets of Italy's automotive capital.

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