Lancia Imperiale Design Concept by David Cardoso

If there's one European brand that has been in an identity crisis for many years, that is Lancia – and the Fiat Group's decision to drop a few Chrysler models including the 300 sedan and the Town & Country minivan into the Italian firm's range only made things worse.

One time the proud maker of sporty models with a pinch of luxury like the gorgeous Lancia Fulvia Coupe with its innovative narrow-angle V4 engine and let's not forget, also the holder of 10 world rally championships, Lancia is now struggling to find its place in today's automotive world.

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Ferrari Says No to Plans for Limited Production New Stratos

“Despite Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo’s excellent assessment of the New Stratos after his test drive at Fiorano, Ferrari does not consent to construction of the planned limited run by either Pininfarina or any other Ferrari-dependent suppliers.”

And with the above short statement, Ferrari announced to Michael Stoschek, the man behind the 21st century interpretation of the famous Lancia Stratos of the ‘70s, that it won’t let him use its chassis, engines nor allow any of its suppliers to participate in the build.

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VIDEO: Michael Stoschek Takes his New Lancia Stratos out for Racing

Unlike many other exotic supercar owners, Michael Stroshek isn’t keen on letting his pride and joy pass its time as a fancy museum piece in a parking lot. The German owner of the much talked about one-off Lancia Stratos wants to enjoy his latest toy where it counts the most: on the race track.

In these latest videos, we see Stroshek taking the Pininfarina-built and Ferrari 430 Scuderia-based Stratos out for racing at the Circuit Spa Francorchamps in Belgium and at the Sachsen Rallyce 2011 in Germany. Hop the jump to see the 540-horsepower Stratos in action for yourself.

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Bertone Auctions Off Some of its Most Recognizable Concepts to Avoid Insolvency

Here lies Bertone, the famed Italian automotive design house, bankrupt and on almost on the verge of death. The once legendary company was forced to sell its most prized possessions – six concept cars – to appease the bankruptcy commission and also to remain afloat. RM Auctions of London handle the sale at this past weekend’s Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2011.

So what delectable concepts were the vultures able to get their beaks into? Well, there’s the 1967 Lamborghini Marzal that once graced the Monaco Grand Prix and is often cited as the inspiration for the Espada of the following year.

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VIDEO: Eminem Meets Italian Opera at Lancia's Presentations of the 2012 Thema and Flavia Concepts

The 81st Geneva International Salon marked Lancia's biggest but also, most controversial motor show appearance in recent years. Biggest because Lancia rolled out a total of six new vehicles and concept models, most controversial because four of those cars including the Thema flagship, the Flavia sedan and convertible concepts, and the Grand Voyager MPV are nothing more than rebadged Chryslers.

Lancia and Chrysler CEO Oliver Francois presented the Chrysler 300-based Thema under the sounds of an odd music mix. "Introducing this car of two continents in Geneva became a very personal affair, therefore I personally worked out a little piece of music, a blend of two musical cultures, Eminem's typical Detroit beat with a touch of Italian opera," said Francois just before the 2012 Thema saloon entered the stage.

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Lancia Could Sell the Ypsilon and Delta in the U.S., Has No Plans to Revive HF Integrale or Fulvia

When announcing the new Ypsilon’s key role in Lancia’s turnaround strategy at a press event Carscoop attended in Turin, Italy, earlier this week, company officials told us that the small car could be sold in the States under the Chrysler brand if American buyers will show enough interest towards the recently launched U.S.-spec Fiat 500. Furthermore, the same could happen with the Delta.

On the other hand, Lancia's people told us the company has no plans to revive famous nameplates such as the HF Integrale and Fulvia, simply stating that there’s no market for Lancia sports cars.

Although in its current state, the new Ypsilon doesn’t comply with U.S. standards, Lancia Product Manager Claudio Nervi told us that it could be “easily federalized” and that logistically “it's not a problem, as the Ypsilon could be produced at the [Fiat Group’s] Mexican plant”. However, Nervi also pointed out the decision depends “on the performance of the Fiat 500 in the US”.

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Lancia Flavia Sedan and Convertible: Concept-Tagged Versions of Chrysler 200

Lancia is going to be quite busy at next month's Geneva Salon as the Italian brand deepens its ties with Chrysler by incorporating the latter's models into its range. Next up on our list after the new Lancia Thema, are the Flavia concept saloon and convertible models, which pay tribute not to their historic ancestor of the 1960s but to art of badge engineering. The two Flavia studies are based on the respective body styles of the Chrysler 200.

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Read All About it: Lancia's Geneva Motor Show Debuts in Detail

*The above photo is a Carscoop illustration

We've been hearing a lot of rumors and speculations for the past few months about Lancia's future product portfolio as well as which of these new models could make their world premiere at the Geneva International Motor Show on March 1. Carscoop has now learned final details of Lancia's plans for the Swiss Salon and can confirm that, aside from the 2012 Ypsilon we've already told you about, the Italian automaker will slip the covers off six more production and concept cars.

Without further ado, these are the Lancia models that will make their first public appearance in Geneva next month: the new Thema flagship sedan based on the Chrysler 300; the Grand Voyager minivan based on the Chrysler Town & Country / Dodge Grand Voyager; the Flavia sedan and convertible concepts based on the respective versions of the Chrysler 200; and finally, the subtly revised 2012MY Delta with a new grille plus trim and engine updates.

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New Lancia Stratos: 40 Buyers Interested in Ferrari-Based Supercar, Price Estimated at €400,000 or $545,000

A small series production of the Lancia-badged New Stratos seems increasingly likely as time passes by and more people learn about the supercar created by Pininfarina for German businessman Michael Stoschek.

According to the latest announcement, so far 40 potential buyers from Europe and other regions have registered their interest in the New Stratos, but Pininfarina and Stoschek believe that this number will continue to increase after the massive exposure from test drives and presentations in a variety of car magazines in their February and March issues.

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New Lancia Stratos in Rally Car Guise and More. Could be Built in Limited Numbers if there's Interest [with Video]

The New Lancia Stratos has completed yet another step of its lengthy unveiling process. This time we have information about the official presentation, which took place on November 29-30, at the Paul Ricard Circuit in Le Castellet, France. There, a select few had the opportunity to see the cabin for the first time, a racecar concept, while they were also informed that the New Stratos could be built in limited production run if there's substantial interest from potential buyers. Read more »

New Lancia Stratos: Full Tech Specs and Performance Figures Plus Presentation Video

The PR people behind the New Stratos project continue to slowly reveal additional information about Pininfarina's one-off supercar. This time they released the full tech specs and performance figures.

Based on Ferrari F430 Scuderia underpinnings, the retrotastic Stratos packs a considerable punch. It measures 4.1 meters in length and tips the scales at just 1.247 kg (2.749 pounds) with the weight distributed 44% in the front and 56% at the rear. Power-to-weight ratio is 2.3 kg/hp, thanks to the 4.3-liter V8 engine, which churns out 540 hp and over 500 Nm (369 lb-ft) of torque. That’s 30 ponies more than the Scuderia’s stock powerplant.

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Pininfarina Hands Over One-Off New Lancia Stratos to its Owner

In what could be one of the happiest days in Michael Stoschek's life, the German millionaire who commissioned the creation of a modern-day Lancia Stratos, took delivery this week of the one-off Italian supercar from Pininfarina's headquarters outside of Turin.

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1970 Lancia Stratos Zero: Birth of a legend [Photos & Video]

The Lancia Stratos is a rally legend and one of the most iconic sports cars of all time with legions of fans. One of those fans, German businessman Michael Stoschek, even went as far as commissioning Pininfarina to build a one-off modern-day iteration of the Stratos based on the hardware of a Ferrari 430 Scuderia.

But not many people know that the first spark that ignited this firestorm was a Bertone concept. Enter the 1970s Stratos Zero prototype. It all started when Bertone had the idea to mount the Fulvia's 1.6-liter V4 engine on a new base. This is how the Stratos Zero concept car was born, a 3.58 meter (141 inches) long and just 84 cm (33 inches) tall prototype envisioned by Marcello Gandini, the same man responsible for the designs of the Lamborghini Countach and Miura.

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Pininfarina's Lancia Stratos Supercar: New Engineering Details Emerge

The automotive industry was taken by surprise a few months ago when it was revealed that German businessman, Michael Stoschek, commissioned Pininfarina to build an one-off successor to the legendary Lancia Stratos HF, based on the Ferrari F430 Scuderia. Now, new technical data emerged about this very special model.

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Fresh Videos of New Lancia Stratos Shot During Final Testing

The developers of the New Stratos have released some new video footage of their Ferrari F430 Scuderia-based supercar. The first clip shows WTTC and former Formula-1-Pilot Tiago Monteiro fine-tuning the chassis of the New Stratos at Balooco test track, Italy, while the second video is from the final wind tunnel test that took place on September 13th at Pininfarina's plant in Turin.

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First Video of New Lancia Stratos Supercar in Action

We've been keeping an eye out for video footage of the one-off New Stratos supercar being developed by Pininfarina ever since the news broke out about the build. And today we found the first film showing the car in the flesh doing some rounds on the track. The man you see talking about the reborn Stratos in the video clip is none other than Michael Stoschek, the German automotive parts supply magnate behind the project.

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New Lancia Stratos: High-Res Photo Gallery

By now, you've probably heard or read about the modern-day interpretation of the Lancia Stratos that is being built as a one-off (for the time being) by Pininfarina for Michael Stoschek, a wealthy German businessman. While there is nothing new in the way of details, the people behind the project have finally released some high resolution photos of the reborn Stratos that you can enjoy right after the jump. We'll remind you that the Stratos is based on a shortened platform of a Ferrari F430 Scuderia making use of the same V8 powerhouse.

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New [Lancia] Stratos gets its Own Website

It's only fitting that a one-off special like the 21st century Stratos [New Lancia Stratos for those not associated with the Fiat Group] has its own website. So now that the car is out in the open, the man who commissioned the build, Michael Stoschek, owner and CEO of the German automotive supplier, Brose KG, launched a dedicated site about the car detailing its history and development.

The website pretty much confirms what we said about the New Stratos in our previous article, including that it makes use of the platform and running gear of a Ferrari F430 Scuderia sporting a 510HP 4.3-liter V8 and that it is being built by Italy's Pininfarina.

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New Lancia Stratos: Real Life Photos of One-Off Special Based on F430 and Built By Pininfarina

Turns out the modern-day interpretation of the iconic Lancia Stratos that took the internet by storm the past couple of weeks is in fact a real car and it will be produced. German media, including Auto Motor und Sport magazine, reported today that the Stratos is a one off -at least for now- commissioned by Michael Stoschek, owner and CEO of the German automotive supplier, Brose KG. It is not clear if the Lancia badge will be used on the final car since it's not an official product.

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Is the New Lancia Stratos for Real? C&D Thinks So

"Confirmed info". That's with the man in your head doing the finger quote thing. "Confirmed info" is what we've got so far regarding the potential revival of a modern monster (the Lancia Stratos, that is). The best part? It's a claim coming from one of the big dogs in the magazine industry, the kind with insiders, contacts, and all that.

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