Lancia Stratos - Lister Bell - questions for a purchase

[Ffffaster]

Hi team, happy new year.

I want a Lister Bell Stratos but am starting out from a position of near zero knowledge. I would be grateful for the forum to educate on anything that should be relevant to a prospective owner to know. In particular, I'd like to cover.

1. I won't be building so will buy one from Lister Bell when they have stock. What should I be budgeting? I read the Autocar review suggesting the kit build by LB is £40,000 but that 10 years ago. What do these sell for on the open market? Any example of recent sales?

2. I want to USE the car, but not for rallying. Road trip in the EU mainly. What sort of interior should I be looking for to make long distances manageable?

3. Any modern day comforts that any owners have installed that make day to day enjoyable?

4. In terms of an engine, I know the Busso V6 is the go to. Are there any other modern options that I could consider for a long term swap eventually?

Thanks!

[vaud]

Handy prior build:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[samoht]

From the above thread
£85k https://www.carandclassic.com/auctions/2022-lb-spe...
£117k https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1635465

One had a Lotus (Toyota) s/c V6 in apparently.

[Ffffaster]

LB will be asking circa £120k for their used cars that they sell. Let's see.

[aeropilot]

Ffffaster said:

LB will be asking circa £120k for their used cars that they sell. Let's see.

And I guess you could be waiting a long time for one, as I heard the waiting list for a factory build was quite a while, and thus they were not building any spec cars for sale, it was build to order only, as they didn't have the capacity...?

That was pre-Covid though, so things may have changed, but I can't imagine they can build too many turnkey cars per year.

[Unbusy]

Last time I looked they didn’t want you to phone them or even send money. Maxed out with an overfull order book.
If they are accepting calls then they are the best people to help you get into one of the best looking cars ever made. Imnotsohumbeo.

[ChrisJ.]

samoht said:

From the above thread
£85k https://www.carandclassic.com/auctions/2022-lb-spe...
£117k https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1635465

One had a Lotus (Toyota) s/c V6 in apparently.

No, both those are Alfa Busso 24v V6 powered.
There is a yellow Lister Bell for sale with a supercharged Toyota engine, ex Swindon/Lotus.

[samoht]

ChrisJ. said:

samoht said:

From the above thread
£85k https://www.carandclassic.com/auctions/2022-lb-spe...
£117k https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1635465

One had a Lotus (Toyota) s/c V6 in apparently.

No, both those are Alfa Busso 24v V6 powered.
There is a yellow Lister Bell for sale with a supercharged Toyota engine, ex Swindon/Lotus.

Sorry, my post was unclear, the last line was intended as a separate point in response to OP's (4), indeed I wasn't referring to either of the cars mentioned.

Personally if I was having one I'd struggle to look past the Busso V6, seems like it would have enough power for the car plus a great noise.

[ChrisJ.]

Ffffaster said:

1. I won't be building so will buy one from Lister Bell when they have stock. What should I be budgeting? I read the Autocar review suggesting the kit build by LB is £40,000 but that 10 years ago. What do these sell for on the open market? Any example of recent sales?

2. I want to USE the car, but not for rallying. Road trip in the EU mainly. What sort of interior should I be looking for to make long distances manageable?

3. Any modern day comforts that any owners have installed that make day to day enjoyable?

4. In terms of an engine, I know the Busso V6 is the go to. Are there any other modern options that I could consider for a long term swap eventually?

Thanks!

1. For a turnkey car from LB, you need to budget for £100k.
2. Choose bucket seats that don't have too high sides. As much interior trim and sound deadening as possible.
3. Air Conditioning is an absolute must. A Stratos makes a very good greenhouse.
4. Toyota is the only other LB approved option. Already fitted to mid engined Lotus cars for a reason, but at odds with the 'all Italian car' thing.
The design of the chassis is significantly different at the rear for either Busso or Toyota engine and gearbox units, so you can't swap from one to the other.

Other types of engines have been fitted to Stratos replicas in recent years, including an ST220 Ford, and even a 4C Alfa, but these are both one offs.

[hollytree]

The Stratos i built in 2010-2014 has a Busso V6 and Alfa box, but these are getting long in the tooth and rare now. Parts hard to find
if you have a problem. My 164 engine/box is 1992 vintage!
Toyota V6 same a Lotus is one modern option
Some car have Rover KV6 and Honda V6 engine/box
Engine/box options is mainly about modifying mounting brackets and drive shaft widths etc
Alfa Twin Cams were early options in 80's/90's but really V6 is what is needed

[Krikkit]

Be fun to go really silly and build a rotary one... If you're not having an Italian V6 then the sky's the limit.

[samoht]

Krikkit said:

Be fun to go really silly and build a rotary one... If you're not having an Italian V6 then the sky's the limit.

Hmm, Mazda always installed their rotaries longitudinally, but the Stratos package is really designed around a transverse engine layout.

However, this is a Hawk with a longitudinal bike-derived V8, so maybe possible with the right gearbox?

https://racecarsdirect.com/Advert/Details/135043/l...