Typically, restomods tend to be made of once-ubiquitous cars that have been lost to the tests of time. Think retro off-roaders, classic muscle cars, vintage Euros, or even JDM youngtimers. But when you decide to do the opposite, and make a restomod of a rare Group B rally legend like the Lancia 037 of which less than 300 exist, you get the Kimera EVO37.
As a result of the original car’s rarity, not much is known about its intricacies, so the EVO37 somewhat helps to push its spirit into the public eye, and Henry Catchpole is here to deliver that review to the public in Hagerty’s latest video. The car starts life as a Lancia Beta Montecarlo, but by the time it transitions into its 037-inspired final form, there’s little of that donor car left.
The EVO37‘s engine, a twincharged 2.1L inline-four, is probably the meanest four-pot we’ve ever heard, combining turbo whistle, supercharger whine, and the sweet sounds of a blow-off valve with an aggressive underlying exhaust note. The powerplant makes an impressive 500 hp (505 PS / 373 kW) and 406 lb-ft (550 Nm) of torque, and it’s paired with a six-speed manual gearbox most famous for its use in the Lamborghini Gallardo and Audi R8. The car also features a full carbon fiber body, an integrated roll cage, tubular subframes, and double wishbone suspension at all corners with dual shocks at the rear.
See Also: Watch The Kimera EVO37 Tribute Driven At The Monte Carlo Rally
Read More: The Martini 7 Is Kimera’s Rally Love Letter To Lancia 037 With A Power Boost
The original Lancia 037 was famously RWD, and the EVO37 continues that tradition. As a result, it bears an incredibly unique driving character, even more so than some actual Group B homologation specials according to Catchpole. It’s very composed over bumps as a rally car should be, but surprisingly loosely sprung. The steering is light and there’s body roll in the corners, but these are all traits that make rally-style driving predictable. Catchpole even compared it to a Ferrari F40 in the way that the boost-happy engine wants you to stay on the throttle through a slide.
It behaves like a true unfiltered rally car in its agility and eagerness to change direction, and it was specifically tuned to be that way with input from an actual rally driver. Kimera wanted the EVO37 to be a real rally car, not just a warmed-over road car that looks like a restomodded Lancia 037, and it paid off. The car proves to be a true automotive passion project, and for more details on its backstory, as well as its technical development, we recommend checking out the full video above.
