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George Williams
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Lancia 037 Rally, 1/24, Hasegawa

July 22, 2016 · in Automotive · · 29 · 3.8K

If Jaguars are my favourite sports cars then Lancias are my favourite rally cars. In fact the BBC Top Gear presenters once voted as their all time favourite manufacturer. I have particularly fond memories of a Lancia Beta Coupe I owned in the early 1980s, before it rusted away before my eyes... The 037 Rally was the replacement for the legendary Stratos. At a time when other makes (led by Audi with the Quattro) were developing four wheel drive machines, Lancia decided to stick with what they knew best, mid-engined, rear wheel drive, road rockets. The 037 was introduced in 1982 with a body designed by Pininfarina and a two litre supercharged (not turbocharged) twin cam engine developed by Abarth (Fiat's tuning arm). The car was especially competitive on the smooth tarmac events but lost out to the four wheel drive rivals on the rougher gravel rally events. It does, of course, feature the classic Martini livery which I just love. Car no 5 was crewed by Marku Alen and I Kivimaki, and was the last two wheel drive car to win a round of the World Rally Championship.

The kit has a lot of detail for a kerbside kit, especially considering its age, I especially like the wheels. The model was finished in Tamiya TS 26 pure white, with a gloss coat over the decals. Thanks for looking, George

Reader reactions:
6  Awesome

8 additional images. Click to enlarge.


29 responses

  1. Yet another outstanding build, George...you certainly have the "touch" with these kits.

  2. Yes lovely models George.

  3. Lovely work as usual George.

  4. Great build George! This was my dream car years ago. Lancia had a checkered history here in the states, and the few that made it over didn't last long for the reason you mentioned.

    • Yes, what a pity, my Beta Coupe has four wheel disc brakes, a hand throttle to aid warming up, fantastic steering and handling, alcantera trim and seats, and, to me at least, it looked beautiful. They also made the Beta Monte Carlo, a mid engined, two seat version, unfortunately most were written off in accidents as the front end was too light and the brakes just locked up, especially in the wet!

  5. Always enjoy seeing your builds with wheels. This and your Jag are both "fun and games" with decals kits.
    Looks like you got the upper hand on both of them.

    • You're right about the decals, these models are very "decal dependant". The Hasegawa kits include pretty good decals, especially considering the age of the kits, better than many of the Tamiya kits of the same period. Thanks for looking and your kind comments.

  6. incredible detail down to the nth

  7. These cars look so real, great work.

  8. Your spoiling us now! Two legendary machines one after the other, you must have been busy! That's probably my favourite ever rally car.

  9. Cracking build, George. Great detailing.

  10. Nicely done George. I have to say what I've said before, this looks very real. Well done !

  11. Another nicely done and colorful model! Great work George!

  12. A Montecarlo/Scorpion on 'roids! The amazing thing is they built street version of this just like the Stratos! You have done it proud (and it looks fantastic in Martini colors)!

  13. Cheers, Josh, I just love those Martini colour schemes, too...

  14. Good ! fantastic rally car with finnish driver : Henri Toivonen ...do you buid the new Delta S4 ?

  15. That's a fantastic work, @chinesegeorge! This is my most desirable car; I grew up with it, admired it and kept it in my soul forever. My father had a 1972 Fulvia berlina! Square looks, but what was not to love in this car?
    Congratulations for your build and thanks for triggering my lovely trip to memory lane.
    All the best!

  16. What a car @chinesegeorge - looks so good - you have serious skills.

  17. Just came across this. Looks great, really good work on this one. And this is coming from someone who owns a modern interpretation of the Ur Quattro - a '23 Audi RS3.

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