The Lancia ECV (standing for ''Experimental Composite Vehicle'') was a prototype

Group S Group B was a set of regulations for grand touring (GT) vehicles used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World Sportscar ...

rally car Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...

developed by the Italian manufacturer

Lancia Lancia () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of FCA Italy S.p.A., which is currently a Stellantis division. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganised its businesses, but it ...

to replace the

Lancia Delta S4 The Lancia Delta S4 is a Group B rally car manufactured by the Italian car company Lancia. The Delta S4 competed in the World Rally Championship in 1985 and 1986, until Group B class was disbanded and the cars were eventually banned from competit ...

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...

competition for the 1988 season. However, Group B as well as Group S cars were banned from competition by the

FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backst ...

in late 1986 due to safety concerns and the ECV never raced. Lancia instead developed the

Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles w ...

Lancia Delta The Lancia Delta is a small family car produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Lancia in three generations. The first generation (1979-1994) debuted at the 1979 Frankfurt Motor Show, the second generation (1993-1999) debuted at the 1993 Genev ...

. The car originally produced over 600

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...

(448 kW) from a 1759 cc twin-turbocharged engine. This engine, christened TriFlux, was built in an unusual fashion; the valves were crossed (for each side of the cylinder there was an intake and an exhaust valve), so that the two turbochargers could be fed with two separate manifolds. A single manifold carried the intake air (hence the name, from the three separate air ducts). However, Group S rules would have artificially limited the car's output to 300 hp (224 kW) to limit speeds. The car made extensive use of the composite materials

Kevlar Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s a ...

and

carbon fibre Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

to save weight and add strength. Overall the car weighed . The car also featured a new Martini colour-scheme, replacing the S4's white bodywork with red-based scheme. Lancia used the new scheme on its competition cars in 1987. The restored ECV1, rebuilt from the original parts, was displayed at the Rally-Legend Event on 7-8-9 October 2010 in San-Marino, by the owner, Giuseppe Volta. An original TriFlux engine has been re-prepared, with the help of the original designer, Ing. Claudio Lombardi, and modern Turbo-engine preparation expert, Claudio Berri. A website has been opened to note the occasion.

ECV II

Despite the cancellation of Group S, Lancia improved the ECV with the 1988 ECV II. The ECV II carbon-fibre chassis was that of the first ECV. The designer of the car was Carlo Gaino of his newly created design studio: Synthesis Design. The ECV II also made use of the TriFlux engine and featured improved aerodynamics.

References

External links

ECV article

Lancia Motor Club (UK)

{{Rally-stub Lancia rally cars Abarth vehicles