With the ever increasing electrification of modern automobiles, adoption of automatic transmissions and escalating mass of new cars it’s no wonder that petrolheads are turning to older cars to fuel their petrolhead dreams. The restomod industry has flourished of late with skilled artisans giving new life to old classics, the Kimera Evo037 is just the latest to join the long list of restomods.

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Keeping it original

Kimera Automobili decided to revive an old rally and race homologation special called the Lancia 037. It is famously the last rear-wheel-drive car to win the world rally championship, in 1983, before the fearsome Group B dominated rallying. They are the second Italian outfit to resurrect a Lancia rally car after the Automobili Amos Delta. 

The Kimera Evo037 has remained pretty close in stylistic execution to the original, which should please purists. The new car is clothed in carbon-fibre panels that cover heavily modified Beta Montecarlo underpinnings. You can see from the pic below that the Evo037 has slightly different overhangs and more flared arches, but the quad headlamps, low height and integrated rear spoiler all remain. New wheels take inspiration from the originals but are much larger in diameter.

Kimera Evo37 and original Lancia 037

Double trouble

To ensure originality Kimera Automobili uses the same layout and engine configuration in the Kimera Evo037. They have even gone so far as employing the original Lancia engineer who was responsible for its creation. Claudio Lombardi has reengineered the engine based around a 2,1-litre Lancia block. 

The inline-four sits in longitudinal orientation behind the cabin. Modern materials and methods have been used in its creation. Taking inspiration from the Delta S4 the Kimera Evo037 features turbo- and supercharging to achieve maximum power of 377 kW and 550 N.m of torque. Those figures give it a power to mass ratio of 500 bhp per ton.

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Drive is sent to the rear axle through a manual transmission as per the original. Potential buyers can choose between an H-gate option or sequential arrangement. Other modern adaptions include Öhlins suspension and Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes. No less than two-time World Rally Champion and former Lancia works driver Miki Biasion has been enlisted to help with the development of the car’s driving characteristics so you know it’s going to be good.

Just 37 units of the Kimera Evo37 will be made and the car is scheduled to make its dynamic debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. If you must know… the projected price starts just north of R8,2m (at today’s exchange rate) before taxes and import duties.