Kimera Automobili shot to prominence when the Italian company debuted its first restomod a few years ago. The Evo37 and follow-up Evo38 set the hearts of rally fans aflutter, including us. The Italian small-scale manufacturer has now unveiled its third act, say hello to the Kimera K39. The K39 is referred, by Kimera as a ‘hyper retromod’. The desire is to create cars built from scratch, with a strong identity derived from recalling and paying tribute to the iconic cars of the past but with modern style, design and technology, including the engine.

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Retro Racer

Lancia Beta Montecarlo

Kimera Automobili has deep roots in motorsport and the company is keen to keep the retro-inspired machines coming. The Evo37 and Evo38 take their cues from Lancia rally cars of the early 1980s. The Kimera K39 looks to the World Sportscar Championship for inspiration.

We see this as a modern-day version of the Group 5 Lancia Beta Montecarlo. This was a racer that was (very) loosely based on the road-going car. Group 5 allowed for ‘silhouette’ racers. Extensive modifications were allowed to production based vehicles. Regulations required only the bonnet, roof and doors to remain unmodified. As a result there were some wild creations, such as the car pictured here.

New Age

The K39 is designated with the letter “K” because it is not an evolution of an existing donor car, but a Kimera in its own right. It is based around a carbon-fibre monocoque. Additionally, the body panels will be made from the same lightweight material. The body has a wild aerodynamic kit that consists of an aggressive front splitter, a huge rear wing as well as a huge diffuser. There are large air ducts on the front clamshell, flanks and a roof scoop.

Kimera says the K39 has a load-bearing engine and push-rod suspension at both ends. As for the engine specifics, that is still to be finalised. However, Kimera says the K39 will have a twin-turbo V8. The ICE will have some form of electrification, similar to systems used in the current-gen F1 cars. 

Click here to read about our driving review of the reimagined Stratos.

Racing Ambitions

Kimera has already stated that it plans to enter the 2025 Pikes Peak International Hillclimb with the K39. In addition the company’s press material says: Kimera’s ambitions are really big. In fact, there’s the will to not only participate in the Pikes Peak but also to look at GT and Endurance races, taking the brand to the most prestigious and important international race tracks, both officially and through private teams and drivers.

Customer Versions

The Evo37 (37 made) and Evo38 (38 units) were snapped up by eager collectors and fans. The company thinks the Kimera K39 will also attract some interest from the public. As a result, it is already evaluating the option of building a few customer cars. Serious potential customers will be involved in the development of the K39 including the testing of the competition model so that certain aspects can also be borrowed on the “customer version”.