A BUG'S LIFE

THIS STRIPPED-DOWN BEAST SPAWNED 340-MPH DRAGSTERS.

- BRIAN LOHNES

ORNAMENT ORIGINS

Lancia HF Elephant

Lancia Hi-Fi started as a club for loyal owners. HF Squadra Corse based its name on it, added a quartet of elephants, and later became Lancia’s official racing team. The charging pachyderms of an HF Fulvia Coupé, Stratos, or Delta Integrale were all about unfaltering performance. Eventually, only a single elephant would be featured. Legend has it that Gianni Lancia said, “Once an elephant starts running, no one can stop it.” Also, they're adorable.

BRITTANY FORCE MADE HISTORY on April 25, 2025, crossing the finish line at zMax Dragway in Concord, North Carolina, at 341.59 mph. No Top Fuel Dragster had ever surpassed a 340-mph trap speed. She did it from a standing start in a 1000-foot charge during qualifying for the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals. The math says that at times during the run she was accelerating at over 6 g's. Incredibly, the path of development to the machine she drove has its verifiable root in the antediluvian hot rod on these pages.

A. Stripped down to almost nothing. The Bug doesn't even have a radiator, only some pipes to hold coolant water.

Special thanks to the NHRA Motorsports Museum staff, who went above and beyond to get The Bug on the nearby Pomona Dragstrip.