Skies were blue, the grass was green and Chiavenna was as charming as it could be while spending time with one of Italy's greatest hits, the Lancia Delta.
The roads came alive as we roamed through Chiavenna's typical Romanesque architecture while its addicting burbly exhaust note sang loudly during a hot lunch hour. It wore its iconic Derby Green dress in flawless condition, with its original 3-way adjustable wing lifted for maximum downforce and looks, of course.
Now, don't let the Nostalgic look fool you, its 2L turbocharged 4-cylinder packing 210bhp and 220lb-ft do not leave anything to wish behind. It is astonishingly quick in response weighing just 2976lbs while handing the driver the best grip it could give, thanks to its iconic 17-inch Montecarlo Speedline optional wheels fitted to a short-wheelbase specification pushed by its renowned complicated all-wheel-drive system.
Life of Delta
The life of Delta started humbly in the early '80s as a family day-to-day car. Though, once FIA declared that manufacturers could only take part in Group B races with all-wheel-drive cars, Lancia was fortunate enough to have the Delta under its sleeve as its quick go-to car. The manufacturer then quickly evolved it to a hardcore, twin-charged version, called the S4. Unfortunately, in 1986 FIA cold-heartedly killed Group B as it proposed too many safety issues to both the public and the drivers. As a result, Group A was formed, carving the one and only Delta Integrale HF, which took six consecutive world championships titles. To this day, no other manufacturer managed to beat this record.
The insides of a legend
While you would assume a homologation-special would consist of race-like seats, a hard ride, and no other basic comfort, Lancia speaks otherwise. Its Alcantara seats provided much comfort and body-grip despite not being the upgraded Recaro seats found in the Evoluzione II. Not to mention, of course, power windows where the humble buttons are located right in between the driver and the passenger (front windows only), a 90's radio, air-conditioning and plenty of ride comfort in contrary to what most say. Most importantly, its iconic cluster displays every little important aspect of the car that makes you feel as though you are doing a pre-check before you storm into a rally stage. Nothing comes quite close to the way the interior of that car makes you feel.
Price to pay
It is noteworthy to mention just how much it has increased in value. At the time, you could fetch one for about $25-30,000. Though, times have changed and so has Lancia's value. Nowadays, most go for an incredible price tag of $80-100,000 or more, depending on which variant you desire, specially if you find an officially Classified A1 Lancia Historial Register like this one. In the time being, there does not seem to be any signs of price decrease anytime soon.
In other words, the Delta HF Integrale Evoluzione is an all-wheel-drive fully analog rally-spec hatchback made in Italy with an adjustable wing at your service. Perfect.
Photos courtesy of Rafael Piccoli
Special thanks to Vincenzo (@il_deltone)
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