Page 36 - Lancia Stratos Zero Sample pages

238 WHEN WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT YOU
LEARNED ABOUT THE CAR?
ON WATSON FINE BOOK
A Conversation with Phillip sArofim
I’m biased, but for me the Zero represents the absolute
pinnacle of that moment. If I don’t walk on the moon,
“I began reading about this car when I was seven or eight
equally as amazing to me.
years old, back in the 1990s,” remembers Sarofim. “I
have always been fascinated by those that dare to break
conventions and shoot for the stars. To me the Stratos
Zero stood out above all others as the true manifestation
of that idea. It was so futuristic and achingly beautiful
and conceptual. Ingress and egress took place through
the front windshield! This shows the genius of the truly
inquisitive mind. Gandini was asking a lot of questions, as
true innovators always should. Why do we have to get
in a car in a conventional way? Why not explore other
avenues? It ignited my passion for design and innovation.
“I grew up in space city, Houston, Texas, and anything
space related felt exciting and deeply relevant. When you
look at the design timeline of this car alongside that of
the space race and 1969 moon landing—the correlation is
obvious. It’s no coincidence and is even reflected in the
name. STRATOS.
DALTON WATSON FINE BOOKS
driving and sharing the Stratos Zero will have been
WHEN DID YOU BECOME AWARE THAT IT
WAS POSSIBLE TO PURCHASE THE CAR?
“I eagerly watched the famous auction in 2011 but was
not in a position to acquire it at the time. We all know
the feeling, I tortured myself over it for days! I later called
the auction house RM Sotheby’s and asked if they could
put me in touch with the new owner. The gentleman
responded and stressed that he was not interested in
selling but would be interested in meeting. We met a
few of times and bonded over our mutual interests. He’d
come over, I’d make him breakfast, we’d sit and chat
about the Stratos and many other and we would share
books and chat endlessly about design.
“We never spoke directly about (me) buying the car but
There are moments in human history, some incredible,
some tragic, which serve to accelerate the trajectory
of innovation and the era of the space race contributed
done and I never looked back!”
so much to the design language of the cars of the time.
© DALTON WATSON FINE BOOKS
one day he said that ‘it’d been so long since he last saw
it, so, he told me that if you want it, this is the number!’ I
have to say that although it was painful to part with some
my favorite cars by way of part exchange—the deal was
ABOVE: If you want to be visible, the only way to achieve that is by keeping the windscreen fully open. TED7
OPPOSITE: Yes, the car is a very tight fit, but six-footer Sarofim has no problem fitting in into those hammock-style bucket seats. EVAN
KLEIN
© DALTON WATSON FINE BOOK
DALTON WATSO