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Santa Drives Lancia Stratos Rally Car Like a Madman, Misplaces a Few Presents

You would have thought that, by now, the folks at Girardo & Co would know that Lancia rally cars are not as good at delivering Christmas presents as they are at rallying. Well, it looked like they were on to something, and had chosen a different vehicle to deliver Christmas gifts to the entire team.
Lancia Stratos gets driven by "Santa" 14 photos
Photo: Screenshot from YouTube video by Girardo&Co.
Lancia Stratos gets driven by "Santa"Lancia Stratos gets driven by "Santa"Lancia Stratos gets driven by "Santa"Lancia Stratos gets driven by "Santa"Lancia Stratos gets driven by "Santa"This is why you do not transport Christmas gifts on the roof of a Lancia StratosThis is why you do not transport Christmas gifts on the roof of a Lancia StratosThis is why you do not transport Christmas gifts on the roof of a Lancia StratosThis is why you do not transport Christmas gifts on the roof of a Lancia StratosThis is why you do not transport Christmas gifts on the roof of a Lancia StratosAsking Santa Claus for help when you break down might not be the best ideaLancia Stratos gets driven by "Santa"Lancia Stratos gets driven by "Santa"
Somehow, the W116 Mercedes-Benz S-Class encountered an issue, and someone had to be called in for help. AAA was not the first choice for the protagonist of the video, as he had someone special in his contacts list, Santa Claus. Since we are just days away from Christmas, Saint Nick was fully booked, so Santa stepped in.

Well, Santa Claus drives a Lancia Stratos rally car. That is a shock, isn't it? Maybe Prancer and the gang were on vacation, so he turned to the Marcello Gandini design (during his days at Bertone). The model was manufactured in just 492 units.

The mid-engined Italian car comes with a Dino V6 engine that delivered 190 horsepower in its road-going version. Regardless of how much horsepower the transverse-mounted 148-cui (2,418 ccs) unit develops, it does make a heavenly sound, and Santa sure seems to know his way around the two-spoke steering wheel of the Turin-built rally car.

While Santa has his safety in check, wearing flame-resistant Sparco racing gloves, and presumably an FIA-approved Santa-themed costume (must be a custom order), he seems to have let his package securing skills get rusty in the pandemic. It did not take long for the Lancia to lose the presents on its roof, but that did not stop Santa from rushing to meet the Girardo & Co team.

With the help of BGM Sport, the Girardo team made yet another Christmas video, and it manages to feature Lancia rally cars yet again. We are not disappointed in any way, although we would have liked to listen to a few more minutes of that Ferrari-bred V6 engine roar. May we suggest a downloadable ringtone?


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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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