It’s hard to imagine, looking at the rally-bred Evo II you see here, that the Lancia Delta HF Integrale started life as just another small hatchback, an Italian runaround designed to pick up pasta and prosecco. Indeed, it was a full eight years after the basic Delta was launched that Lancia’s renowned rally department worked their magic on their innocent little shopper, equipping it with monstrous bulging wheel arches, four-wheel drive and the Integrale badge that signalled performance to turn the average supercar driver pale.
On the rally stage, the Lancia Delta HF Integrale was an instant success, winning the World Rally Championship for Lancia a record six times in a row. That means the little Lancia has the unlikely title of one of the most successful rally cars of all time. More importantly for the company’s bottom line, competition superstardom gave the average shopping Lancia Delta a whole new lease of life. Crisp design of the original was by the maestro himself, Giorgetto Giugiaro for Ital Design, and that meant adding a modification or three simply adds to a classic look.
Road-going versions of the all-conquering rally cars were instantly desirable. Despite the swollen wheel arches, there’s something of the stealth about the civilian Lancia Delta HF Integrale, rather like hiding muscles under a loose t-shirt. Have no doubt though, those muscles exist, and how. The HF designation is only added to those Lancias deemed to be sufficiently high performance by the company’s management and here there was more than sufficient flex to impress the bosses. In the final most desirable Evoluzione II iteration you see here, the Lancia Delta Integrale could reach a top speed of 137 mph, with 60 mph reached in just 5.7 seconds. Take that, Lamborghini.
Bulging bonnet signals there’s Lancia's 2-litre 211 bhp 16V engine waiting underneath. This 1994 example is listed as both accident and rust-free, two areas where high-end performance cars, and particularly a rust-prone Lancia Delta, can be vulnerable. That box ticked, you’re free to drool a little at the Monza Rosso colourway, contrasting nicely with the Speedline Monte Carlo alloy wheels, mimicking those on the competition versions. Inside, the quietly lavish interior features unmarked Alcantara seating, bolstered to protect you around those demanding b-road corners while you flick the three-spoke Momo steering wheel, all the better to relish the precise handling.
Company selling this highly coveted Lancia Delta Integrale is not just any specialist, but one of the finest for these Lancia Deltas in Europe. Austria-based Karthofer Delta Historic are, as the name suggests, laser-focused on these complicated machines, first involved in rallying them in period. There couldn’t be a better place to buy yours, with the price of this example available strictly on application. Recent auction results suggest you’ll need to part with around £75,000 for your next four-wheel drive rally-bred classic. Cheap at the price, we’d say.
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