1978 Lancia Beta Monte Carlo - 037 Tribute

This 037 Tribute was built by the seller over an 18 year period with help from Peter Maylum, a renowned rally/rallycross competition car constructor. He estimates the parts alone cost him £50,000. Peter built the chassis from some images of the original 037 building process, and the bodywork from original 037 butts. It’s road registered, with the original Montecarlo V5 and is tax and MoT exempt.

It’s powered by a Lancia Integrale 2-litre turbocharged engine driving through a Quaife six-speed sequential gearbox, and the low mileage is genuine, the car being registered and run through the CSCC Thunder Saloon class. It’s been dyno'ed at 320bhp and 250 ft/lbs torque on 1bar of boost. 

Although road registered this is a track-day/race car. The build philosophy was to use as many original parts as possible, although the seller admits an original 037 engine and transmission were out of his reach. Nonetheless, the chassis work completed by Peter, fits perfectly under the panels of a genuine 037.

This 037 tribute has been made using an original Lancia Montecarlo Spyder central tub. From either end of this a tubular spaceframe has been added which replicates the original 037 construction. Glassfibre panels clothe the front and rear of the car, just like the genuine article. 

This is a competition car and has been enjoyed as such, so there are plenty of marks and scrapes, but worn with some degree of pride in this case. The actual fit and finish of the panelwork is very likely superior to that of an original 037 – Group B cars were built with little care for the aesthetic, function ruled form.

Interior in this car simply means the area enclosed by the outer panels. Upholstery is confined to the cloth on the race spec seats, and the aircon, Bluetooth and cup holder options weren’t ticked.

What you do get is everything you need to go as fast as possible although, as this car is also fully road legal, niceties such as a handbrake and indicators are also included. You can drive this car to Silverstone, race it, then drive home again.

The Delta Integrale turbocharged four-pot is the ideal doppleganger for the 037 tribute, especially as it went on to have plenty of rally glory itself. With around 300bhp it also has all the go to match the show, and we imagine performance is nothing short of terrifying. 

A purpose built Quaife six-speed sequential gearbox allows the driver to keep the Integrale engine on boost and singing – punch the stick back and forth for changes up and down. 

Hanging from the front spaceframe is double wishbone suspension with Bilstein dampers and Bremsport alloy brake calipers. At the rear exists a similar layout, with the obvious addition of driveshafts to transfer that turbocharged grunt on to the blacktop. 

The seller says:

‘The engine is ECU managed, as is the throttle control. This is to enable flat-shift and engine-blip on down-shift. The ECU will allow this but as I am an ex-racer, my heel and toe technique was sufficient, but the feature is there to be activated. 

‘An important point to note is that the bodywork was taken and made from the last original 037 butts in England and it fitted perfectly over Peter Maylum's chassis work. 

‘If the prospective owner was lucky enough to own an original Lancia 037, then they could use this car to make an exact duplicate to use for events and keep their original safe.’

‘The car has been sympathetically tuned to get 300bhp and 270ft/lbs of torque, running 1 bar of boost, as the originals had in 1984. The injectors are not close to their 80% optimum flow rate, and an 8v version of the Integrale that we were working on, running almost 3bar of boost, was producing 450bhp on a stock bottom-end, so there is some headroom.’ 

There’s a vast history file with this car, including a pictorial record of the build, plus a detailed description of the process written by the seller. The car comes with a V5 and also a Panasonic Toughbook laptop, complete with the software to tune the DTA ECU that runs the engine. The seller says:

‘I remember back in the ’80s my now late father and I sitting on the sofa watching the World Rally Championship and marvelling at the heroics of the drivers and the crass stupidity of the spectators at the height of the Group B period. It was inevitable that it was going to implode and as we know, it did.

‘Out of the Group B cars I always had a huge soft-spot for the Lancia 037. So when this pretty little two-wheel-drive car beat the four-wheel-drive German tools to the Manufacturer’s Championship in 1983, I was hugely impressed. Many years later, in 1997, I decided I wanted a new car.

‘I discovered that out of the 200 made most had ended up in ditches or wrapped around trees. The remaining few, were buried in collections (mostly Japan, some in Italy) and already earning their owners interest, so no chance of buying one – so I decided to make one.

‘From the outset, I knew that there would have to be compromises along the way, but I’d stick as closely to the original ideas that Sergio Limone had back in the early ’80s. I would never be able to find an original Abarth engine and gearbox, let alone afford them, and I really wanted a tribute to the turbo version that was being designed at the demise of Group ’. So I chose the Integral from the Delta. 

‘Next I needed a chassis and again I didn’t want a body-kit on a Lancia Beta Montecarlo that were readily available, I wanted the proper thing, so I went to famed Rally and Rally-Cross car builder Peter Maylum.’

‘I needed to find a Lancia Beta Montecarlo body. The only part of the Montecarlo that was used in the 037 was the central tub. The front and back are cut off at the bulkheads and discarded. And that’s how Peter started. 

‘I was so proud of the final product and it did seem a lifetime ago that I started this, although it was only 1997. The initial dyno work was done in 2015, so an 18 year build. 

‘The year before last the 037 had her first run on a real circuit – Silverstone. I registered the car with the CSCC (Classic Sport Car Club) in their Thunder Sports and Mod Saloons category. These guys are 600bhp and slicks. I was on 278bhp and road Yokohamas! Still I had to give them a chance!

‘The CSCC would be pleased to have the car back on their grids and there are obviously other associations and events that would love to have it available. As a member of Goodwood Road Racing Club, it has been requested for display but sadly I was unavailable at the time, but that is another option.’

You couldn’t build this car for anything like our estimate and you won’t find another. A genuinely unique opportunity.

We are happy to offer this car for auction with an estimate in the range of £50,000 - £60,000.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at Bonhams|Cars Online HQ. Viewings are STRICTLY BY APPOINTMENT and we are open weekdays between 10am - 12pm or 2pm - 4pm. To make a booking, please use the ‘Enquire About This Vehicle’ button on the listing. Feel free to ask any questions, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.