Learning About a Lancia

There was a time when Lancia was a well-known name in the automotive market. While it wasn’t a brand that every made global dominance, or was part of every market we see in the world, it was one that offered us a battle for the ages when racing was taking place. This small Italian automaker gained attention by being one of the brands that entered racing in a way that left it as the underdog in every way, which certainly allowed this brand to be the one many people wanted to root for because it was the small brand going against a giant.In the early days of the World Rally Championship racing, Audi was the name to beat. This was especially the case when the inclusion of AWD models was allowed and Audi created their first Quattro racing machine to head out on the tracks for the racing desired. In the early part of the 1980s, Audi was dominant at the different Rally tracks and it had captured several championships, but the Lancia team decided to put a challenge in the mix and see if they could compete in these races with the stalwart name.

The David vs. Goliath Concept

Lancia created the mid-engined 037 sports car that was built to take on the Rally tracks and challenge Audi. These cars were lightweight and saved everything they could everywhere you looked, including in the structure of the safety equipment used for the roll cage. This car was built with RWD as the driving nature which put it at an aggressive disadvantage to the AWD models coming from Audi. This made the challenge extreme considering the battle was a completely uphill one for the Lancia team, which endeared the name to the world that followed this racing.This is certainly a story that’s worth watching in order to learn how it was that Lancia was able to take only a few cars, a team of drivers that weren’t hell-bent on winning, a few missed events, and the RWD model of the 037 to the tracks in order to win the 1983 World Rally Championship. This was truly an amazing feat that was pulled off by this small company that had to wage nearly everything in order to make its way to the finish line to bring home the Manufacturers’ World Championship for this sport.In order to see this story in full, you need to visit Amazon Prime Video and take a look at the Grand Tour series offered. Jeremy Clarkson does an amazing job of explaining the challenges and worries that Lancia had to face in regards to this car and the races it would compete in. The interviews with winning drivers and some of the team members allow you to have the look inside what this team was up against at they competed to bring home this trophy. Head on over to Amazon Prime Video and enjoy this episode and many others of The Grand Tour.