1992 Lancia Delta Integrale Evo I Hatchback Sedan

The Lancia Delta made its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1979. Between 1987 and 1992, the Integral would dominate its branch of motorsport, with 46 rally victories and six constructor championships.

The Lancia Delta HF 4WD/Integral is the most successful rally car of all time. It won the World Rally Championship for six consecutive years, from 1987 through 1992. After the cancellation of Group B competition at the end of the 1986 season, the WRC shifted to Group A cars. Homologation rules for Group B required 200 examples to be built, whereas Group A was production-based and required 5,000 examples. Lancia's entry was the Giugiaro-designed four-door, front-wheel drive, production Delta HF. It was modified with an all-wheel-drive system with Ferguson center coupling and Torsen rear differential from the Delta S4 and an increased engine capacity. The new Delta HF 4WD was introduced in mid-1986 and produced through 1987, after which the model was given a new name - the Delta HF Integrale.

This particular Lancia Delta Integrale HF Evo I retains its original driveline and interior. It has 57,570 km on the odometer. The engine received a recent refurbishment with OEM parts, by a marque specialist, with costs exceeding $27,000. This vehicle has all the Evo package interior and performance upgrades and is powered by a 1995cc turbocharged 16-valve four-cylinder engine fitted with electronic fuel injection. There is a five-speed manual transmission, all-wheel drive, and four-wheel disc brakes. The exterior is finished in the appropriate Martini livery.

The new rally car, wearing the Martini Racing colors of Lancia's long-term Works sponsor, was immediately successful. It won its first competition event at the 1987 Monte Carlo Rally. It would win eight of that season's 11 championship events, earning the company the world championship. In 1988, it won 10 events from 11 championship events, seven victories from 10 championship events in 1989, six from 11 in 1990, and six wins and four 2nd place finishes out of 10 events in 1991. After the 1991 season came to a close, Lancia officially withdrew from rallying. Even with the withdrawal from competition, the Integral continued to race, winning eight of 10 events in the hands of Martini Racing during the 1992 season.

The Delta HF Integral Evoluzione homologation version was built in 1991 and 1992. It was fitted with a 16-valve version of the turbocharged 1,995cc engine offering 210 horsepower in street guise. The second-generation Evolution, 'Evo 2', was produced in 1993 and 1994.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2018