Over the past year we’ve seen Group B rally cars reach some impressive prices at auction. Typically, auctions or private sales are the way these cars change hands, but in this week’s Good Find Friday, I’ve found a 1985 Lancia 037 rally car for sale at retail. Is the price right or is it wishful thinking? Read on for my perspective on this amazing find.

The Fiat 151 Abarth served as the primary rally racing entrant and championship winner for the FIAT Group after sidelining the iconic Lancia Stratos. With the FIA’s introduction of the new Group A, B and S homologation categories for 1983 the company needed to create a successor. Following the tradition of using rally success to generate interest in road cars, the factory’s new Group B entrant would be based on the rear wheel drive and mid-engined Lancia Montecarlo.

The Lancia 037 is actually based on the Montecarlo Spider and not the coupe as it provided precious additional space for helmeted drivers. To a cut-down central monocoque from the Montecarlo were added new front and rear tubular structures to support the fiberglass bodywork and mid-engine drivetrain. The 037 would remain rear-wheel drive despite the Audi Quattro’s stunning success.

Considerable time and effort was spent on aerodynamics to generate as much downforce as possible. While it resulted in additional drag, the Lancia 037 sported a prodigious rear wing to produce traction for the drive end of the car. Motivating the Lancia 037 was an Abarth-tuned 16-valve 2.0 liter 4-cylinder engine fitted with a Volumex supercharger. This combination produced 205hp at 7,000 RPM with no turbo lag and valuable low-end torque. Walter Röhrl famously described the 037 as the most difficult to drive of any car he’s piloted, but also as a car that fits as comfortably as a shoe.

The Lancia 037 had some initial stumbles, but would eventually win the constructor’s title in 1983 — its sole championship victory. The ferocious, and sometimes questionably sporting, battle between the 037 and the superior Audi Quatto would cement its place in history. This is perhaps why the car remains so beloved today. An amazing write-up on wrcwings.tech covers much of the car’s history and is a worthwhile read.

Today’s car is a Lancia 037 listed on Hemmings.com and other sites with an asking price of $765,000. The car is located in Brussels, Belgium and is said to be race-ready.

Precious little information is posted about this car on Hemmings or other sites, and the website included in the listings appears to hide information behind a login. No information is provided as to how you might register to access the “full documentation” available on the car.

If you do a little digging, though, you can uncover some more details. The chassis number on this car may be #201 and is said to have been built in preparation for the 1983 season. Why the car is listed as model year 1985 is unknown, except perhaps that its race history notes it was first raced by Henri Toivonen in 1985 during the Rally Costa Smeralda. No mention as to whether this is the car that crashed during that rally, nearly paralyzing Toivonen.

For some odd reason chassis #202 is also included in the description, casting a little doubt on which car this actually is. It’s listed as being very original, but chassis 201 was damaged in the 1985 accident and at the time wore white Martini livery with the racing number of 1.

While I’m no expert, exterior-wise the car does present as an EVO2 car with a metal front splitter, side intake vents on the rear clamshell, and removed rear bumper.

Moving to the interior, the seats do not appear to be the original race-spec seats from the 80s, which is probably a requirement for modern racing use. The roll cage looks similarly beefed up from what would have been limited protection in a Group B car of the period.

The engine on an EVO2 would have used a Kugelfischer fuel injection system and put out 330hp thanks to tweaks to the supercharger.

While the interior and mechanical compartments appear to be pretty tidy, the bodywork certainly shows some evidence of use, with scuffing along the lower edges.

As private sales are just that — private — appraisers generally use public auction numbers to establish value. Over the last 5 years or so, there have been 13 public auctions of Lancia 037 cars in both Stradale and race trim. Some of those auctions represent the same car coming to market, and not all appearances resulted in sales.

Based on sales prices, the current average price for a Lancia 037 regardless of trim is $683,000. When looking at race vs. street specs, we see that race cars are valued significantly higher. While homologation cars are works of art with race pedigree and corresponding mechanicals, a car with documented race participation is a true piece of history.

The highest price obtained for a Lancia 037 was in 2022 when a works EVO1 car sold for an impressive $1.2M at RM Sotheby’s London.

The market has been looking good for Group B rally cars over the last year, with a Lancia Stratos Stradale recently selling at Broad Arrow’s Amelia Island auction for $692,500 and a lovely Audi Sport Quattro bringing $758,500 at RM Sotheby’s Arizona sale.

I’m personally a fan of the white Martini livery, but there are plenty of folks out there who prefer the red variant this car currently sports. The big issue here, in regard to price, will be provenance. If the car is truly as well-documented as the seller states, it could be appropriately priced.

If you’re interested in owning a rally car like this one, especially one that is reputed to have a racing provenance, employing a professional appraiser to evaluate the car is a must. Said appraiser will also most likely consult an expert in the marque and Lancia race history to authenticate the car.

I, for one, hope someone investigates this car and produces a feature article on its history. It’d be in both buyer and seller’s interests to do so. Buona fortuna!

Wolf and Mare provides car finding, appraisal and auction services for sellers and buyers of collector European cars. We also provide importation services. Give us a call or drop us a line!