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Lancia 037 Martini #8 A. Bettega / M. Perissinot Safari Rally 1985 Kyosho 1:18

Lancia 037 Martini #8 A. Bettega / M. Perissinot Safari Rally 1985 Kyosho 1:18
Current price: £146.67

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Specifications
Car Brand
Lancia
Model Manufacturer
Kyosho
Scale
1:18
Material
Diecast
Model Condition
New Model
SKU
08306J
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5-layer carton Foam-filled interior
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About the Lancia 037 Martini #8 A. Bettega / M. Perissinot Safari Rally 1985 Kyosho 1:18

TL;DR: Kyosho's 1:18 diecast Lancia 037 recreates the Martini-liveried #8 driven by Attilio Bettega and Maurizio Perissinot at the 1985 Safari Rally. The zinc alloy body carries Group B arches, auxiliary lighting and opening doors and bonnet, a focused piece for a Lancia or Group B rally collection.

The 037 was Lancia's answer to Group B, a rear-wheel-drive machine built to hold its own against four-wheel-drive rivals through chassis balance rather than traction. This Martini-liveried Safari entry puts that fight on the shelf, raised stance and auxiliary lights included.

Kyosho's 1:18 Lancia 037 in Safari Rally Specification

Diecast Build and the Raised Safari Stance

Kyosho casts this 037 in diecast, and the zinc alloy body gives it real heft the moment it clears the packaging, a density no plastic-bodied kit can match. The wide Group B arches sit correctly flared over the rear wheels, housing the wider rubber the 037 needed on loose surfaces, and the ride height reads noticeably taller than a tarmac-spec version, a distinction Kyosho keeps rather than reusing shared rally tooling across every event. The auxiliary lighting pod above the grille and the underbody protection plate are modelled as separate, visible details, not smoothed into the bodywork, matching the equipment a car needed to survive rutted African roads rather than closed tarmac stages.

Opening Panels and Cabin Detail

Doors and bonnet open on metal hinges to reveal a mapped engine bay and a stripped-back cabin with a roll cage, bucket seats and the sparse dashboard a Group B rally car actually carried. Panel gaps stay tight around the opening bonnet despite the raised stance, and the paint holds a consistent, slightly flattened gloss that suits a rally subject better than showroom shine would. Wheels carry the correct off-road pattern rather than a generic road tyre tread, a small but telling detail on a car whose grip depended entirely on rubber choice.

Martini Livery and the Bettega/Perissinot Crew

Livery Registration and Race Graphics

The Martini livery is the visual anchor here, and Kyosho reproduces the dark blue and red stripes over white with clean, unbroken registration across bonnet, doors and roof. Getting that right matters more on a rally subject than a road-car replica, since any waver in the stripe alignment shows up instantly on flat body panels moving at speed in period photography. The #8 door number sits crisp and centred, and the sponsor decals across the lower doors and rear quarters match the placement the works Lancia squad actually used that season.

Bettega, Perissinot and a Tough African Entry

Attilio Bettega was one of Lancia's frontline Group B drivers, paired here with co-driver Maurizio Perissinot for an entry on one of the championship's harshest events. The Safari Rally tested reliability as much as pace, with dust, rutted roads and long liaison sections wearing down cars that had thrived on European gravel stages. Reproducing that specific pairing and event on one casting gives the model a documented identity beyond a generic Group B livery exercise.

The 037's Place in Group B History

The 037 holds an unusual distinction: it was the last rear-wheel-drive car to win the World Rally Championship manufacturers' title, taking that honour in 1983 against the first wave of four-wheel-drive opposition. Lancia and Abarth built it around a mid-mounted, supercharged four-cylinder engine and a chassis derived from the Monte Carlo racer, backing agility and weight distribution over the traction advantage four-wheel drive offered elsewhere. That approach still worked on well-chosen stages in 1985, but the balance of power had already shifted, with Peugeot's 205 T16 and Audi's quattro pulling ahead and Lancia's own Delta S4 already taking shape as this car's replacement. This Safari entry captures a rear-wheel-drive car campaigned deep into an era that had begun to move past it.

Where This Lancia 037 Sits on a Rally Shelf

Kyosho also produces this 037 in other liveries from the same era, including an ESSO-sponsored Targa Florio entry, and running two or three variants together shows how differently teams dressed the same homologated shape across one season. At roughly 22 centimetres, the model suits a shelf built around Group B subjects rather than a display case of its own. Collectors weighing scale should note that 1:43 rally ranges cover more events but drop the opening bonnet and cabin detail this format keeps. Priced within the mid-tier diecast bracket, this Safari-spec 037 rewards a Lancia-focused or Group B-themed collection more than a general motorsport shelf, and pairs naturally with the marque's other works entries from the period.

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