In addition to 1982 World Champion Walter Rohrl, factory 037's would be driven by Markku Alen, Jean-Claude Andruet, Adartico Vudafieri and Attilio Bettega in 1983's WRC. There was also a contingent of well-funded and works-prepared Lancia Junior Team cars for the European series, these being entered under the auspices of the Jolly Club, Tre Gazzelle and Grifone. 1983 kicked off in Monte Carlo where three new cars were entered for the Martini team who revelled in abnormally warm conditions. The 037's were in their element winning 21 of the 29 stages, Rohrl leading Alen home by an astonishing 7 minutes for the cars first WRC win.

This was followed by a maiden ERC victory after Miki Biasion's triumph on the Costa Brava Rally, the Italian's Jolly Club car roaring home to an uncontested win, nine minutes ahead of his nearest challenger. It seemed Lancia might have finally got a grip on the 037's reliability and sure enough, victories continued to flood in over the course of the year. They followed for Franco Cunico and Grifone on the Targa Florio Rally and Biasion and Jolly Club in Spain's RACE Rally, but the little Lancia's most emphatic result came on the Costa Smerelda where 037's filled the top six positions. Precisely one year since making its competitive debut, Biasion headed the sextet of Junior Team cars after the Martini entry of Markku Alen retired with compressor problems. The Finn took his first WRC victory in two years on the Tour de Corse as Lancia recorded a stunning 1-2-3-4, Attilio Bettega completing the convoy on his return to rallying after that horrible crash on 1982's event. Biasion continued his winning ways on the ERC's Four Regions Rally before the world series arrived in Greece for the Acropolis, Lancia introducing dry-sumped gearboxes for all three cars whilst Rohrl's also got a new titanium rollcage. Hannu Mikkola's Audi looked set to win after taking the lead in the final leg, but an oil leak allowed Rohrl and Alen to pass the stricken Quattro and take a memorable one-two. More European Championship events fell to Jolly Club cars over the next few weeks, Carlo Capone winning the Rally della Lana while the irrepressible Biasion finished nearly a minute ahead of French Lancia importer Chardonnet's 037 in the Ypres 24 Hour event.

Another hard-fought victory in the WRC, this time in New Zealand, saw Rohrl inherit the lead just before dawn after Michele Mouton's Audi retired with a broken connecting rod, Lancia's fourth win from six. Six was the same number of Euro victories Biasion had accrued after winning the Madeira Rally little more than a month later, the Jolly Club driver by this time having established an almost unassailable lead in the Drivers standings. Tonino Tognana took another win for the Jolly Club in the Halkidikis Rally despite losing a couple of minutes changing his compressor, but surely the sweetest moment of all was on the San Remo in early October. The 037's fifth WRC victory of the year came by way of a formation 1-2-3 finish and secured Lancia the 1983 World Manufacturers Championship. No less than eight 037's had started the rally, the three Martini cars getting repositioned shock absorber mounts (homologated October 1st) and retaining the new camber angles first seen in Argentina (homologated July 1st). By this time, the European Championship had been wrapped up with Biasion finishing on more than twice as many points as his nearest rival after winning the San Marino Rally. It was his seventh of the year but with Vudafieri securing the Catalunya Rally, Jolly Club's tally was up to ten while Franco Cunico's victory in the Rally Val d'Aosta meant Grifone bagged two. All in all it had been a good year then with the Evoluzione I turning the 037 from an unproven gamble to the dominant force in world rallying. But with several manufacturers already developing their own purpose-built Group B contenders, Lancia couldn't expect to have it all their own way for long. Click on the links below to see full results.

1983 World Rally Championship Results
1983 European Rally Championship Results