Eminence front driver#

But for the man who discovered the car and negotiated its purchase, there was one magic attribute that rendered it worth rescuing, and that was its startling originality. Yes, it was rusting away and no, it didn’t even start, let alone run. For reasons unbeknownst to us, the Lancia was tucked away in a garage and left languishing for almost three decades. It’s at this point when the story takes a sad twist. It was to be its last competitive outing. The latter was a fruitful move – piloted by Jean-Pierre Balmer and Denis Indermühle, the car won the 1986 Critérium International Jurassien in Switzerland outright. Undeterred, Volta upgraded the Eminence 037 to full-fat Evo II specification and lent it first to Andrea Aghini to tackle the 1985 Coppa Liburna and second to the Jean-Jacques Benson Team. This time was instead used by Giuseppe Volta to evaluate the chances of a potential rallycross entry, although Abarth quickly put paid to that idea because of the emergence of its new Delta S4. The Lancia escaped the line of fire during the 1984 season. It was a fabulously French affair and a proud day for all involved, especially Eminence, who no doubt sold many more pairs of underwear as a result of the success. With the help of his co-driver Alain Mahé, he brought the Lancia home in third place overall, behind a Works Opel Manta and a Renault R5 Turbo. In what was a bit of a coup for Volta, the driving duties were assigned to the French Tour Auto specialist Bernard Darniche, who was making his comeback after he’d suffered a bad accident the previous year while testing a BMW M1 Procar in Corsica.ĭespite not being in tiptop physical shape and complaining that the 037 did not feel as agile and spritely as when he’d tested it in Italy before the Hunsrück debacle, Darniche more than proved his worth.

In Hunsrück, the young Italian hotshot Andrea Zanussi took the wheel, although his talent promptly ran out and he crashed heavily, badly damaging the driver’s side door.Ī hastily performed repair was carried out before the Lancia took to the starting ramp for the fifth time, this time in the prestigious Tour de France Automobile.

Eminence front driver#

The Costa Brava, Costa Smeralda, Ypres and Hunsrück rallies were the first four events tackled by the Lancia, but a combination of bad luck, mechanical gremlins and simple driver error meant a finish eluded it in each. The respected Volta team was the next best option. Eminence had reportedly tried to strike a deal with Abarth directly, but Martini had already staked a claim to the official Works backing. And nope, the timing is not a coincidence. The car was delivered in desirable Evo I specification to the Abarth-affiliated privateer outfit of Giuseppe Volta exactly 37 years ago. In hindsight, it strikes us as the perfect sponsor given the sort of bottom-clenching speeds at which the car was being hurled across the special stages of Europe. That’s what Eminence, the French brand that’s plastered all over this Lancia 037, is famous for, just in case you were wondering.