Vehicle Spotlight: 1970 Lancia Stratos HF

1970 LANCIA STRATOS HF "ZERO"

1 prototype built in 1970 Automotive dream-car styling shifted during the 1960s from swelling, sensuous curves to the harder geometries of the “wedge.” Arrow-like lines spoke of speed and the future, and stylists at Bertone were at the thin edge of the wedge. The Stratos prototype was strikingly sculptural, but functional, and perhaps the lowest car ever at only 33” tall. The Zero set the design tone for the whole of the 1970s and ’80s: the future would be sharp.

COURTESY OF PHILLIP SAROFIM

BUILT BY LANCIA & C. FABRICA AUTOMOBILI, TURIN, ITALY