After months of rumour, speculation and build-up, the New Stratos officially broke cover today at a launch event for selected motoring journalists held at Circuit Paul Ricard. It is indeed a real, working, road legal automobile, and will quite likely be actually offered for sale to the public. But there won’t be many, and it won’t be cheap.

The New Stratos is the brainchild of German businessman and enthusiastic racer Michael Stoschek, inspired by his ardour for the ‘70s Lancia rally legend and developed from the 2005 Fenomenon Stratos concept car created by designer Chris Hrabalek. Based mechanically on a Ferrari 430 Scuderia V8 and 6-speed sequential—the Lancia Stratos, of course, used a Ferrari Dino driveline — the finished product was built by Pininfarina.

With 540bhp, up from the Ferrari’s 503, and a wheelbase nearly as diminutive as the tiny original, the new car could have been a handful in the corners; its predecessor, making a third as much in standard road-going tune, was famously never a car for novices. The Ferrari electronic traction and stability control systems, however, combined with the mechanical limited slip, tame much of the inherent abruptness of such a configuration, and the New Stratos feels remarkably friendly and forgiving even on the brief exposure of a press launch drive. You can flick the car through turns like an overgrown motorbike.

And it’s this chuckability that typifies the car’s character; acceleration and agility were design priorities over top speed and the New Stratos, despite the extra power and some 80 kilos less weight, is marginally slower than the Scuderia on the top end. Maximum speed is estimated at just over 300km/h (186mph); zero to 100km/h should come in 3.3 seconds, about two ticks faster than the Ferrari. Unlike most modern supercars, this is far more a mountain road berserker than a motorway rocket. It may never attack any special stages, but it certainly has the spirit.

Now, about buying one yourself: Michael Stoschek never intended to go into motorcar manufacturing, this was purely an act of passion, but based on the interest already displayed, he and Pininfarina are in deep discussion about a limited production run. Basically, it all depends on how many real, qualified potential customers step up and ask may I have a New Stratos, please? 

If you’re one of them, get in touch via the “Contacts” link on the New Stratos website, and your intentions will be passed on to Pininfarina. Pricing is obviously rather speculative at this point, but don’t expect it to be under the 500,000 Euro range.

Watch for a full New Stratos report in the February 2011 issue of Octane on newsstands 23 December.