Kimera K39 Brings Koenigsegg V8 Power to a Lancia 037 Inspired Supercar

Kimera Automobili has never been interested in treating the Lancia 037 as a museum piece.

With the K39, the Italian coachbuilding specialist has taken its 037-inspired formula beyond restomod territory and into something closer to a purpose-built modern supercar.

The headline is hard to ignore, because this compact, wide-bodied machine uses a bespoke 5.0-litre twin-turbo V8 developed with Koenigsegg and is being readied in a Pikes Peak version.

At a glance

A Lancia 037 idea pushed past restomod territory

The Lancia 037 remains one of rallying’s great anomalies.

It won the World Rally Championship as a rear-wheel-drive car at a time when Audi’s quattro system was already changing the sport, relying on lightness, agility and drivers such as Walter Röhrl and Markku Alén to keep it in the fight.

Kimera’s earlier EVO37 paid close attention to that mythology, keeping the proportions, double headlights, truncated tail and compact aggression of the original while rebuilding the idea in carbon fibre with modern performance.

The later EVO38 sharpened the recipe, but the K39 is a more dramatic step.

Rather than simply evolving the 037 shape, Kimera has blended it with the visual language of the Lancia Beta Montecarlo Turbo from Group 5 racing.

That connection is more than aesthetic, since the original 037 was developed from the Montecarlo platform.

Group 5 attitude over a familiar silhouette

From a distance, the K39 still carries the unmistakable mid-engined stance and cabin-forward proportions associated with the 037.

Closer inspection reveals a much wider, more aggressive car than the EVO37 and EVO38.

The rear arches are boxier, the side intakes are larger, and the front splitter stretches lower and wider across the nose.

The twin-headlight identity remains, now with daytime running light rings and pop-up high beams set behind them.

The front bodywork is punctured by large vents, a central NACA duct and additional openings over the wheel arches, all of which give the car a functional competition look rather than simple retro theatre.

At the rear, Kimera has fitted a much larger integrated wing, brake-cooling intakes around the wing supports, a roof intake feeding into the engine cover, a broad diffuser and a central exhaust outlet.

There’s also a small but deliberate nod to another Italian icon, with four vertical slats behind the rear wheels recalling the Ferrari F40.

Koenigsegg power changes the character

The biggest departure sits behind the cabin.

Kimera’s previous EVO37 and EVO38 used a 2.1-litre turbocharged four-cylinder closely related in spirit to the original 037 engine, with the EVO37 producing up to 500bhp.

The K39 moves to a bespoke 5.0-litre twin-turbo V8 developed with Koenigsegg.

It’s related to the unit used in the Jesko, but tuned here to 1,000bhp and 1,200Nm of torque.

That figure is especially arresting because the K39 is quoted at just 1,100kg, giving it a near one-to-one power-to-weight ratio.

The cabin follows the same motorsport-led approach, with Alcantara, leather and carbon-fibre trim, bucket seats, an exposed gear linkage and a rev counter mounted on the steering column.

Pikes Peak gives the K39 a sharper purpose

Alongside the K39 Stradale, Kimera is developing a K39 Pikes Peak version.

The goal is to take the car to the famous Colorado hillclimb, a 12.42-mile course covering roughly 20 kilometres and more than 156 corners.

The event is uniquely punishing because the route climbs almost three vertical kilometres from start to finish, testing power, cooling, aero stability and driver commitment in equal measure.

For a car that already looks like a rally memory filtered through modern endurance-racing aggression, Pikes Peak feels like a natural stage.

Details & Specifications

The K39 works because it doesn’t treat nostalgia as the whole point.

It uses the 037 as a starting line, then adds Group 5 menace, Swedish power and a motorsport target severe enough to make the concept feel earned.