“IT’S GREAT TO DRIVE A CAR,” R&T noted in October 1984, “that’s exactly what it claims to be. Whether you think of it as a rally version of the Montecarlo (tested in R&T in its U.S. Scorpion guise in September 1976) or as a road version of the Montecarlo Group 5 (track-tested in June 1981 [and appearing here at SimanaitisSays], it’s a simple machine that gets just one job done: devouring the open road in ravenous gulps.”
The 1984 Lancia Rally. This and following images from October 1984 R&T (its bound volume, thick and difficult to scan).
“The Rally,” R&T continued, “is not an everyday street machine tricked out to look sporty, nor is it a racing machine that can barely be coaxed over your driveway ramp. It’s that rarest of breeds, a car that’s pretty damned happy anywhere, the true descendant of the Aurelia B20s that owned the roads of Europe in the Fifties.”
More on appreciation of the Aurelia B20 from then-Assistant Art Director Larry Crane anon.
Supercharged Mid-engine. “The significant difference between the Montecarlo and the Rally,” R&T recounts, “is in the engine and its position.” Both are mid-engine (i.e., behind occupants but ahead of the rear axle). The Montecarlo’s, though, is turbocharged and transversely mounted. The Rally’s is supercharged and mounted longitudinally.
The Rally’s mid-engine power: Roots-type supercharger, twin-cam, 16-valve 1995-cc four. A heat shield separates much of the exhaust system from the engine.
Accommodations. “When you get into the Rally,” R&T reported, “the additional frame tubes, just above seat height, make things difficult. The interior is all business, with a positive short-throw gear lever, large perforated foot pedals and thorough instrumentation in a simple rectangular housing. The console houses an immediately accessible array of fuses and a quickly resettable digital elapsed timer. The Rally has indifferent ventilation but the electric windows are an unexpected touch.” As with Lotus, Lancia design engineers probably found electrics were lighter weight than mechanical actuation.
R&T also complemented the car’s roof, with “two bubble-like projections for head room, rather in the Zagato style though this is a Pininfarina design.”
A Gentle Warmup. R&T described, “You need about 3000 rpm to get off the line smartly and keeping it below 4000 until it’s fully warm means you don’t have much to work with at first.”
Growling Once Au Point. R&T continues, “But when you run it up to 7000, the closely spaced gears keep the engine in the fat part of its power band, growling quickly from gear to gear to its relatively low maximum of 128 in 5th (this is not a car for cruising). Once you’re moving, you’re never without power anywhere, the gear lever and pedals requiring positive effort but never slowing you up.”
Rally-bred Handling. “The steering is quick,” R&T reported, “and the Rally is intentionally tail-happy, throwing the tail out being a necessary rally maneuver.”
Indeed, I found the Rally particularly adept through our 8-cone 700-ft. slalom, with a speed of 64.1 mph. This is right up there with a slalom favorite of mine: the Renault 5 Turbo 2’s 64.0 mph, though, of course, out-slalomed by the Renault Le Car Turbo race car’s 68.0 mph and Swift Formula Ford race car’s 72.2 mph.
R&T’s Summary. “Don’t expect to entertain your passenger with anything but speed,” R&T wrote. [Didn’t I take anyone for a thrill ride through the slalom?] This is a single-purpose car, for all roads. Only about 200 have been built so far and you’ll have to negotiate availability as well as price…. So here’s a Lancia with more performance and less sophistication than its price [$50,000] would indicate. Just the right priority for some of us.”
Larry Crane’s Aurelia B20. The road test was accompanied by a sidebar written by Larry Crane, Assistant Art Director at the time who also knew his way adroitly around words: “Owning a Lancia in the U.S. is like owning a Tatra or listening to Django Reinhart…. Why would anyone choose to face the drama of owning a complex, relatively rare and unusual Italian car? Performance, satisfaction and price. It is the only car, in my opinion, of serious historical significance without a stratospheric price. Now, with four years of ownership, I could not have made a more satisfactory choice.”
Larry and his B20. Photo by David M. Woodhouse.
“My B20,” Larry said, “has won concours, run vintage races and toured Italy, all with the emphasis on fun.”
Just as Larry was cited as saying in “Does the Sports Car Exist?” here at SimanaitisSays. ds
© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2024