Kimera Automobili is an Italian company specializing in the production of high-performance cars and restomods. Founded by former rally driver Luca Betti, the company reinterprets iconic cars from the past by combining classic design with modern technologies. It is based in Villa Kimera, in Cuneo, Italy.
The company name comes from the Italian language and stands for the chimera, a hybrid creature from Greek mythology. It can also be seen on the manufacturer's emblem. More over, the letters K-M-R have a special place in Luca Betti's heart, since they stand for a sentence he always repeated to himself during his rallying career: Keeping My Road. Kimera Automobili was established with the goal of paying tribute to the Italian rally cars of the 1980s. The company's first project, launched in 2021, was the EVO37, a modern reinterpretation of the Lancia 037.
The EVO37 is a reinterpretation of the Lancia Rally 037, the last rear-wheel-drive car to win the World Rally Championship. Kimera Automobili collaborated with former Lancia engineers and technicians like Sergio Limone and Claudio Lombardi to create a limited series of 37 units, combining classic aesthetics with cutting-edge components and technologies.
The EVO37 is effectively a Restomod: in order to build it, Kimera Automobili has to source and buy a donor car, a Lancia Beta Montecarlo, and use its chassis as a base. The old chassis is cut and only parts of the central shell are kept. Afterwards, a tubular chassis is built at the front and at the back, just like Lancia used to do for the Rally 037. The chassis number is also preserved on the newly built car, and for this reason a Lancia badge is kept at the front.
The EVO37 is equipped with a 2.15-liter, 4-cylinder engine capable of delivering 505 hp, owing to the combination of a supercharger (for low revs) and a turbocharger (for high revs).
The engine was designed and engineered by Italtecnica with various tributes to the Italian Group B cars from the 80's. The engine capacity is the same as the Lancia 037, while the twin-charging system (supercharger + turbocharger) is the same as the Lancia Delta S4.
The engine is coupled to a 6-speed manual gearbox from Dana Graziano.
The car features a carbon fiber body, Öhlins suspension (with double wishbone dampers at the back), and a Brembo braking system.
Each EVO37 is highly customised, as Kimera Automobili gives customers hundreds of customisation options: materials, colours and stitchings can be fully personalised. Each EVO37 car also has its own name (always a female name) chosen by the owner.
The EVO37 Martini7 Edition is a limited series of 10 units paying tribute to the Martini Racing rallying heritage, revealed on April 2023 in Sardinia by Kimera Automobili.
These 10 unique pieces are all named after the rallies in which the Lancia Rally 037 took part, and they all wear an official and certified Martini Racing livery.
The EVO37 Martini7 has an increased amount of power: 550hp, so 45 more than the standard EVO37. The Martini7 was also tuned and perfected together with Italian WRC legend Miki Biasion.
Moreover, it comes with different sideskirts, a more aggressive front splitter, additional headlights and little aerodynamic tweaks like the iconic NACA air intake.
EVO38
Ultima Evoluzione
Kimera EVO38
In 2024, at the Ginevra Motorshow Kimera Automobili unveiled the EVO38 ("Ultima Evoluzione", the last Evolution), the successor of the EVO37 ("Autentica Evoluzione", authentic evolution) which will be produced in 38 units. The EVO38, unlike the EVO37, comes with a four-wheel drive system together with a significant increase in power, pushing out 600hp from the reworked 2.15-liter 4-cylinder twin-charged engine.
The EVO38 exhaust system ("KSD", Kimera Scarico Diretto) is radically different from the EVO37: the driver can choose between two lateral exhaust exits and a single direct and central one, which is for track use only.
The EVO38 is equipped with a push-rod suspension system both at the front and at the back with the possibility to raise and lower the whole car through an HLS system.
In the interior, the EVO38 is full of new quirks and details: the main one is the exposed transmission shaft, which can be seen spinning through the plexiglass cover when the car is rolling in gear.
K39
Sky's the limit
Kimera K39
In 2025, the company introduced the K39, a race car designed to compete in such events as the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The K39 is inspired by the "Silhouette" Lancia Beta Turbo Gr. 5 from the Martini Racing team, which dominated the World Sportscar Championship between the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Its name reflects its nature as a retro-inspired new car (not EVO39 but K39, as in "Kimera 39") and not a Restomod.
The car features a carbon fiber monocoque chassis and an aerodynamically optimised body designed for hill climb competitions.
More details will be available soon, as Kimera Automobili is yet to reveal the first K39 prototype.
Event participation
Kimera Automobili constantly participates in international automotive events, showcasing its creations at venues such as the Goodwood Festival of Speed and the Monterey Car Week. In 2025, they returned to GoodWood and featured their Kimera EVO38 PROTOTIPO 01 in the hill climb event.[1]
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