The Lancia Stratos HF Zero - The Stuff of Legends
ED209
"The
Lancia Stratos HF Zero - the stuff of legends"
Nearly a year ago a fellow PuristS posted in our Auto forum about a a truly legendary prototype sports car, the Lancia Stratos HF Zero. For the full report, please Please click hereThe Lancia Stratos HF Zero had resided in the Bertone Museum for a lengthy period until it was recently transitioned to a new home in The Purists Collection. So we were all excited to hear that the ZERO would be on display here in Southern California with several other historic Italian car designs.
ThePuristS team joined Leslie Kendall, Curator for the Petersen Automotive Museum, for an exclusive look at the new exhibition to showcase the influence of Italian automotive designers over the past few decades. "Sculpture in Motion: Masterpieces of Italian Design" in the museum's Grand Salon officially opened this past weekend but we had an early preview with a special debut of a legendary prototype car: The Lancia Stratos HF Zero.
First, a little historical background information. This futuristic prototype by Bertone was unveiled at the 1970 Turin Motor Show and would become the inspiration and define the styling for supercars in the following decades. The car was officially named the Stratos HF as in 'stratosphere' in reference to it's space age design but has become well known by it's internal nickname: ZERO. The Stratos HF Zero had a futuristic look, and still does, with a chiseled and angular shape including a row of thin strip of headlights in the front of the car to the mesh grille and ribbon outlined taillights in the rear. The Stratos is a mere 33 inches from the ground. The interior cabin was so far up front that access was made by a front opening flip up windscreen. What made this even more impressive was that this car was a fully functioning prototype with a metal body. To match the sleek profile a 1.6 liter Lancia V-4 engine from the Fulvia HF was chosen as the powerplant for the Zero.
In 2000 the Lancia Stratos HF Zero was put through an complete full restoration by Stile Bertone in Capri, Italy. During this restoration process the Zero was refinished back to it's original bronze-orange color.
For a behind-the-scenes look at the events that took place prior to the exhibit at the Petersen Automotive Museum, please visit ThePuristS Automotive forum, Please click here
Regards,
ED-209
This message has been edited by ED209 on 2012-02-29 23:38:03
Comments:
ED209 February 28th, 2012-21:07
The Lancia Stratos HF Zero - The Stuff of Legends: cool video Thanks to DRMW's suggestion, we placed a GoPro camera on the top floor of the Petersen Automotive Museum to capture the engine fire up from a different perspective. This was my favorite video in the report: Regards, ED-209 This message has been edited by ...
amanico February 28th, 2012-21:15
Superb article, Ed. For me, the Stratos HF didn't look so futuristic, as I discovered, through, your article, this car, this Proto. As for your question, yes, Jaeger used to make these instruments for cars, for many years. You can also see them in much older cars. Best, Nico...
ED209 February 28th, 2012-21:24
You truly are the master of JLC information Thanks Nicholas, I was really wondering about the Jaeger instrument panel. I knew you would know about it Regards, ED-209
amanico February 28th, 2012-21:25
It was easy, in this case. But thanks! No message body
BDLJ February 29th, 2012-15:17
Looks like Mr Kendall... ...had to take his shoes off to be able to hit the pedals? The Stratos Zero really is one of those cars that captured my imagination as a kid.
ED209 March 1st, 2012-17:53
The entire team They are PuristS at heart, with being so careful about preserving the car. They all used gloves when handling the car and also to the extreme by taking off their shoes to keep the interior as clean as possible. Nicely done. Regards, ED-209
ED209 February 28th, 2012-21:17
The Lancia Stratos HF Zero - The Stuff of Legends, One more teaser pic Did you notice the text in the sign for the Lancia Stratos HF Zero? It's part of The PuristS Collection! Regards, ED-209 This message has been edited by ED209 on 2012-02-29 23:42:11...
elanoftroy February 28th, 2012-23:07
Fun read Ed I don't know much about cars but the Zero reminds me of the savor of the 70's. I seem to remember, about that time that a neighbor had a car that looked like a wedge and had a garage for the the car in the shape of a wedge as well. Very daring looking car...
ED209 February 29th, 2012-23:48
Thanks for checking out the story Hi Helen, Thanks for reading the story about the Zero. More pics and video posted on ThePuristS Automotive forum. Regards, ED-209
patrick_y February 28th, 2012-23:39
A most interesting machine... It's really hard to appreciate how low it is, until you see the video of the car moving into position. The tail lights/ turn indicators are also delightfully unusual. Thank you for sharing with us your photos and video of this amazing and interesting mach...
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