In a perfect world, the fastest cars would be the best looking ones. And to some extent, that’s often the case. But not always. For instance the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione is one of the most jaw-droppingly gorgeous automotive creations ever devised, but by most accounts, its performance fails to live up to its styling. Conversely, cars like the Nissan GT-R and Porsche 911 GT2 RS are some of the most devastatingly fast vehicles ever to grace tarmac, but not everyone’s enamored of their sheetmetal.
The New Stratos is here to suggest that you may be able to have your cake and eat it to, as full technical specifications and performance stats have been released on the one-off retro creation. The aluminum chassis from the Ferrari 430 Scuderia is a good starting point, giving the New Stratos a compact, lightweight frame, a 44/56 front/rear weight distribution ratio and a 4.3-liter V8 tuned from the 508 horsepower delivered in the Scud to 540 in the nuovo Lancia.
That’s enough to rocket the coachbuilt custom from a standstill to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 3.3 seconds, past 200 km/h (124 mph) in 9.7 and on to a top speed of 170 mph. (That last figure may not be the most impressive, but the original Stratos was never geared for top-speed runs, but for rapid acceleration and nimble handling, and its successor appears to have followed the same route.)
