Kimera Evo 37
A car so rare, I never thought I would have a chance to see one in person, let alone have the opportunity to photograph it. The Kimera Evo 37 is a passionate and beautifully crafted homage to a legendary Italian car of the 80s: the Lancia Rally 037.
I photographed this Evo 37 at Graham Rahal Performance on the Northwest side of Indianapolis, just weeks before they received a second 37, the only two in the US and two of 37 ever produced.
Race inspired, racer born.
I cannot begin talking about Kimera without acknowledging the car that started it all: The famed Lancia Rally 037. Regarded as one of the purest rally cars ever designed, the Rally 037 was Lancia’s answer to Group B regulations, or lack of regulations more accurately. Lancia seized the opportunity and produced a car that felt born for any road, and any race track. I could talk all day about how beloved the Rally 037 is to me and the automotive/motorsports worlds, but this story is about how that car ended, and how another begins. As all things die, some are reborn and cherished.
Kimera is the culmination of Italian rally driver and businessman Luca Betti’s passion for racing and road cars. Luca’s obsession with Lancia cars, road and rally, led him to found Kimera in 2018 and develop a car that encompassed the heart and soul of what he loved about Lancia’s 037. He didn’t aim to just make a resto-mod art piece, but develop a a new lineage of sports cars in the process.
Kimera unveiled the Evo 037 in 2021, with a stunning yet familiar shape. The Evo 37 is unmistakably a direct tribute to Lancia. At first glance, the silhouette is almost identical. The same low-wedge front, ducktail, mid engine and short wheel base. Like seeing a ghost, the 37 is hauntingly beautiful.
Art doesn’t spoil this pure sports car.
In person, the 37 has a presence that steals the attention away from any other car in the room. Next to me, a silver Porsche 918 Spyder, but my camera is glued to the candy blue car in front of me. The design is simple, but the proportions are so exaggerated and extreme you cannot help but stare. The duck tail sweeps upward from the flat low fender arches, then gently kinks at a shallower angle. The side profile of this car is just out of this world. It looks fun, it looks fast just sitting there.
Moving to the sides, enormous carbon ducts feed the engine bay, protruding off the car considerably. The boxy contours flow forward into the doors and stop before the front fenders, being surpassed outward by large carbon front fender vent exits. Carbon aero disks adorn the bronze wheels, looking futuristic and at home on this 80s futuristic design. The front of the car is pure, perfection of the 80s sports car. Four round headlights sit at the corners of a classic wide nose grill, framed by bulging fender arches that taper to the corners of the headlights. Kimera absolutely nailed the 37, it’s just a joy to look at. It’s passion, it’s art, it’s my favorite “retro” design of all time.
Kimera builds the 37 around a heavily modified Lancia Montecarlo donor frame, and is augmented by a tubular chassis and bespoke suspension inspired by the original Lancia 037 design. Just look at the double rear-dampers straddling the shocks! The car weighs just over 1,000 Kg thanks to composite bodywork all around. Under the giant rear clamshell bodywork is a 2.1L four cylinder engine, with an exotic two stage super/turbo-charged induction system. Using the supercharger to build revs low, the turbocharger kicks in at high RPM to carry torque through the 7,200rpm redline. 0-60mph should take no more than 3 seconds, incredible for a car with “only” 500hp. Light weight sports cars, a formula that will never fail to succeed.
Check out the full-res gallery below, and thank you to Graham Rahal Performance for the opportunity to shoot such an incredible car. More info about the Evo 37 and upcoming cars by Kimera can be found at their website linked here.
