Into the Paint Shop
The original intention had been to take advantage of the high quality of the ListerBell bodywork and keep the white base of the car in the white gel-coat and only have the Alitalia stripes painted. After some discussion and after juggling some man-maths it was decided to have the whole car painted.
A local Motorsport Company recognised as experts in the preparation, modification and restoration of all manner of high performance race cars were chosen to do the full paintwork.
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Having a 1/18th scale model of car as it competed in the 1977 Tour De Corse was helpful in getting the details of the paint scheme correct but there were a number of reference photos available online and in reference books to assist.
The Stratos rallied under a number of official factory and privateer sponsors and colour schemes over the years
Additionally, over the years that the Italian national airline, Alitalia, sponsored Lancia in the World Rally Championship there were some subtle changes in the race livery so it was good to be able to take some detailed photos for the paint shop to be able to better reproduce the scheme.
The paintshop were happy to keep me updated with progress of the job. Initially the work concentrated on the white base coat for the body, the black coating for the undersides of the various panels and the satin black finish for the lights and pods.
