Once upon a time, rear-wheel-drive cars dominated the rally racing scene. The Kimera Automobili EVO37 celebrates the last two-wheel-drive rally car to ever win the World Rally Championship. In 1983, the RWD Lancia O37 prototype defeated the all-wheel-drive Audi Quattro for the WRC title.
You may or may not remember the Lancia O37 prototype from the ‘80s but it certainly made its mark in the rally community. The EVO37 from Kimera Automobili is a restomod tribute to the Lancia prototype and they nailed it.
More importantly, they made it better. Not just aesthetically, they really pumped up the power output and overall performance capability. The old prototype from the ‘80s featured a supercharged 2.0L 4-cylinder engine producing 205 horsepower with 167 pound-feet of torque.
Kimera Automobili rips the supercharger out and replaces it with a modern turbocharger system featuring an electric compressor. They keep a 2.0L 4-cylinder engine as the foundation. The end result is a staggering 505 hp with 406 pound-feet of torque.
That’s a lot of power from a 4-cylinder engine. Keep in mind, the weight distribution has not changed as a result of the power increase. Many restomod builders put larger displacement engines or swap something else in when building these projects.
There is really no wrong way to dream but Kimera knew what a nightmare it might be to mess with changing engine displacement in a car like this. As a result, this car features exceptional handling balance without the kind of nose-heavy driving dynamics usually associated with larger displacement engines sending 500 hp to the wheels.
It gets better. The engineering behind this car is incredible. With its longitudinally mid-mounted engine design, there are no awkward weight-shift imbalances to account for while driving or cornering with the EVO37. You can become one with the road or track when sitting behind the wheel of a car like this.
Now that you want a Kimera Automobili EVO37, here is the fine print. They are only going to make 37 of them. Call it a hunch but there are going to be more than 37 wishlists with the EVO37 on it, this car is special.
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