1970 Lancia Stratos Zero: A Crazy Concept from The Wedge Era – Design You Trust

1970 Lancia Stratos Zero: A Crazy Concept from The Wedge Era

Pininfarina and Bertone were two of Italy’s best recognized and most successful postwar coachbuilders. Both Milanese carrozzerie competed for commissions and they debuted outrageous concept cars to impress the public and to entice automakers into choosing one of them over the other. In 1970, at the Turin Auto Show, Bertone unveiled the Lancia Stratos HF, which soon became popularly known by its internal nickname: Zero.

h/t: fristartmuseum

To challenge Pininfarina, whose designs tended to be alluringly curvaceous, Bertone produced a very low, sharply chiseled coupe that appeared to have been carved out of a solid block of bronze. At only 33 inches high, it was arguably low enough to be driven right under a semitrailer. Design experts have commented that the Stratos HF Zero was a significant step between the 1968 Alfa Romeo Carabo and the production Lamborghini Countach.

Even after more than thirty years, the Stratos remains extremely futuristic looking. Nothing about it was conventional, save for the wheels in all four corners. The steering column could be moved forward to allow more room to enter the vehicle. Simultaneously, a hydraulic mechanism opened the wide Perspex windscreen, which served as the car’s single door. Occupants could see directly ahead and above—and little else.

The cost of building the Zero was reportedly forty million lire (about $450,000 in 1970). Nuccio Bertone drove the Stratos on public roads to Lancia’s offices, dazzling all who saw the impossibly low coupe, and marveling at it himself when he drove it under the closed entrance barriers at Lancia’s racing department.

The result of that meeting was the radical Lancia Stratos rally car. Although the production Lancia Stratos, with its midmounted Fiat/Ferrari V-6 engine, did not closely resemble the Zero, the edgy, all-wheel-drive race car would probably not have been built had it not been for the influence of the inimitable Zero.














If you want more awesome content, subscribe to 'Oh, Design You Trust,' our brand new Facebook page! Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

More Inspiring Stories

Exploring the World of Pop Culture through the Eye of Victor Garcia
Incredible Black and White Photos Capture Street Scenes of NYC in the 1950s
Programmer Recreates Classic Artwork With Thread And A Mathematic Algorithm
Ford Applied Noise-Cancelling Technology To A Doghouse, And It’s Awesome!
In 1908, a Doctor Used X-Rays to Highlight the Damaging Effects of Tight Corsets on a Woman’s Body
The Snail Family In Medieval Art
Photographer Martin Parr Captured Candid Portraits of British Drivers in 1994
People Of Bell Labs In The 1960s
Uranium Glass – Collectible Radioactive Glassware From a Bygone Era
See Inside a 1926 Rolls-Royce Phantom, the Most Expensive Rolls-Royce Ever Made
Belfast in Amazing Rare Color Photographs, 1955
Assembly: A Sense of Comfort through Proximity
"Choose Your Retro Haircut!": Hair Style Selections From The 1950s-1980s
This Cheap Shot 130 Crossbow Will Protect You From The Zombie Apocalypse
Hong Kong’s 70s and 80s Nostalgic in Keith Macgregor's Photographs
Pirate-Themed Scanner A Hit At NYC Hospital
Candid Photographs Captured Prostitution Scenes in Paris in 1966
Beautiful Postcards Capture Everyday Life Of American Indians In The Early 20th Century
Stunning Vintage Advertising of 1948-49 Futuramic Oldsmobile
"Post-Apocalypse Now": Superb Concept Art By Sergey Vasnev
This Carpet-Covered Lada Is the Most Soviet-Era Car Ever Made
68 Nostalgic Images Of The Greatest Pop Culture Legends In History Shared By Morrison Hotel Gallery
Vintage Photos Of Soviet People Took Posing With Their First TV Sets
Chinese Submersible 'Jiaolong' Dives to 22 851ft in The Mariana Trench