The duel between Lancia and Audi in the World Rally Championship in 1983, the season in which the Italian brand’s 037 faced the Audi Quattro, has now reached the cinema, in a real story of David against Goliath, involving the Lancia team, led by Cesare Fiorio, in one of the greatest rivalries in the history of this sport.
Scheduled to premiere on January 5, 2024, in the USA and Canada, at the center of the story is Cesare Fiorio, team manager of the Lancia Rally Team, and German driver Walter Röhrl, who joined the Italian team precisely in 1983, eventually achieving an extraordinary result and winning the last World Rally Championship for a two-wheel drive vehicle.
“The movie ‘Race for Glory’ tells a wonderful story of Italian success,” says Riccardo Scamarcio, the Italian actor who plays the role of Cesare Fiorio. “A very small team of specialists and enthusiasts defeated a big, technologically advanced company, thanks to the Italian team spirit and the passion of Lancia Squadra Corse. Cesare Fiorio was a man who made the impossible possible, simply by harnessing the best abilities mixed with passion.”
A sensational victory officially achieved on October 7, 1983, at the Sanremo Rally, a stage of the World Championship entirely “signed” by the Italian brand, which placed four cars in the top five final positions.
“I am proud that Lancia and the Lancia Rally 037 have been chosen as the protagonists of the movie ‘Race for Glory’. The Lancia Rally 037 fully represents the spirit of the brand, a model with radical geometric shapes, combined with an elegant and exclusive design, which brought to life a car always able to overcome any obstacle, achieving a remarkable victory in the 1983 World Rally Championship. With 15 World Rally Championships, three World Endurance Constructors’ Championships, one 1000 Miglia, two Targa Florio, and one Carrera Panamericana, Lancia remains the most successful brand of all time in rallying. And it is no coincidence that the Lancia Rally 037 is one of the nine cars that inspired the design of our future models,” said Luca Napolitano, CEO of the Lancia brand.
