SLIDESHOW
Fabulous fibreglass cars
The first fibreglass-bodied car was an American roadster of 1949, the Glasspar G2. In the 75 years since, there has been no shortage of weird and wonderful cars with a fibreglass body, and some with a fibreglass monocoque too. Some engineers may look down their nose at fibreglass, but here are some significant cars with the whiff of epoxy resin that the world would have been a duller place without.
Lancia Stratos 1973
Created for rallying, this mid-engined coupé featured clamshell nose and tail sections, fashioned from fibreglass, that pivoted up towards the sky. Sat in the engine bay was the 2.4-litre V6 from Ferrari’s Dino. Marcello Gandini designed it after Nuccio Bertone bought a friend’s Lancia Fulvia and set about creating a new concept. The result was the Stratos Zero, a car so low that Bertone drove it to Lancia’s race works and passed straight under the security barrier. The Stratos went on to dominate the WRC, winning the 1974, 1975 and 1976 titles, and would have won more had parent firm Fiat not dictated that its 131 Abarth take over. Lancia made 492 road-going Stratoses for homologation, and they sell for big money today.