Stola S81

Weird Car of the Day #451: 2000 Stola S81 – Sir Lancia-not

Stola S81
Stola S81 illustration

What’s the Italian word for “Lancia Stratos, but better”?

Unveiled in the year 2000, after the computers were meant to have stopped operating, the Stola S81 concept is one of those sports cars that will remain unforgettable…yet fly under the radar for all but the most dedicated of car spotters.

This show car is not a car*, but a 1:1 model of what Marcello Gandini and his team wanted to accomplish as a complete reimagining of what a then-contemporary Lancia Stratos would be.

Lancia Stratos, left; Stola S81, right: Note the Lancia badge in the S81’s front bumper. We’ll come back to this. • studiotorino