The Lancia 037 was made to win the world rally championship and was very successful in this area. The basic body was taken from a Lancia Monte Carlo and modified to take the enlarged engine and stiffened for rallying.
The resulting machine was a 205bhp 1170kg race machine.
Drive Train | 2WD Rear |
Gearbox | ZF DS25/2 5 speed transaxle, full synchromesh (as used in Ford GT40, de Tomaso Panterra etc) |
Gear ratios | 2.417/1.611/1.136/0.846/0.704 reverse 2.867 |
Final Drive | 5.25:1 |
Engine | 4 cylinder in-line, 16V, 2 OHC (as used on the FIAT Abarth 131 Mirafiori) Dry sump lubrication |
Bore | 84mm |
Stroke | 90mm |
Capacity | 1995 cc |
Compression ratio | 7.5:1 |
Induction | Roots type supercharger, single Weber 40DCN |
BHP | 205 @7000rpm |
Torque | 23.8 kgfm 170.17 ft lb @5000rpm |
Wheels | 8 x 16 front, 9 x 16 rear |
Tyres | Pirelli P7 205/55/16 front, 225/50/16 rear |
Dimensions | 3915mm long, 1850mm wide, 1245mm high |
Wheelbase | 2440mm |
Track front/rear | 1508 mm/1490 mm |
Weight | 1170 kg |
Top speed | 137 mph |
Acceleration (0-60 mph) | 7 seconds |
There were some technical changes made to the cars for the Group B rally format. The 21 cars built in April 1982 had 260bhp @7000rpm and had a reduced weight of 1020kg.
Further changes were made in August 1982 when 21 Group B "Evoluzione" cars were built. The supercharger was replaced with a 3 port Roots type supercharger, and Bosch-Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection was introduced from October 1982. Water injection (to reduce inlet temperatures and improve reliability) was also introduced. This increased the power to 305bhp @8000rpm and torque to 30 kgfm/215 ft lb @5000rpm. The final weight was 960 kg
Yet more changes were introduced for 17 cars built between 1984 and 1986. The Group B Evolution 2 had the following engine configuration:
Bore | 85mm |
Stroke | 93mm |
Capacity | 2111cc |
Power | 325bhp @8000rpm (0.9 bar boost) |
Torque | 32 kgfm 228 ft lb @5000rpm |
At some point the gearbox was fitted with straight cut close ratio gears with dog clutches - rather like a Hewland. A wide variety of gear ratios and final drive ratios were homologated, but the standard ratios were: 2.31/1.61/1.30/1.125/1.00 with either a 4.88 or 5.25 final drive.
A wide range of wheels and tyres were used for rallying. 16" diameter front wheel were always used, 3 piece for tarmac and one piece for tougher stages. At the rear, 18" diameter wheels were tried on the Evolution cars for some events, but mostly 16" diameter 3 piece and one piece wheels were used. Tyres were always Pirelli on the works cars, the P7 Corsa in various widths, patterns and compounds for tarmac use, and mainly SG35 off-road pattern tyres in 3 compounds and various widths for loose stages. I have also seen photographs of the competition cars on CN36 road pattern and MS35 'mud and slush' pattern tyres. On ice they used a narrow studded tyre known as a Hakka.