“Despite Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo’s excellent assessment of the New Stratos after his test drive at Fiorano, Ferrari does not consent to construction of the planned limited run by either Pininfarina or any other Ferrari-dependent suppliers.”

And with the above short statement, Ferrari announced to Michael Stoschek, the man behind the 21st century interpretation of the famous Lancia Stratos of the ‘70s, that it won’t let him use its chassis, engines nor allow any of its suppliers to participate in the build.

Therefore, if the company wants to build a limited run of the New Stratos, they won’t be able to use the 360 Modena, F430 or 458 Italia as donors, nor rely on Pininfarina to build the carbon fiber bodywork, as originally planned. As Stoschek himself put it, they’ll have to do so “only via companies that are not dependent on Ferrari”. Currently the only car in existence is based on a Ferrari F430 Scuderia.

Come on, Ferrari, your boss said he was so impressed and now you get cold feet? What are you afraid of? Surely, your long waiting lists won’t be hurt by a limited run of 40 or perhaps even less examples of the New Stratos.

We hope some other company, preferably Italian in order to keep the character, will step in and help the New Stratos be built.

What do you say, Lamborghini; are you interested? You already have the hardware – the Gallardo and its V10 would make an excellent donor car. Wouldn’t you like to go against your arch-rival and earn the respect of car enthusiasts all over the world?

By Andreas

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