320hp Lancia Delta Integrale Evo I for sale
Lancia is back winning rallies again - as if any more of an excuse was required...
You would be excused for not knowing about Lancia’s significant achievement announced this week. Thanks to the efforts of Andrea Crugnola and Andrea Sassi, driving the new Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale, the storied Italian brand won its first rally on home soil since 2012. Sure, the Rally dei Laghi is hardly WRC Finland - seven special stages in the Varese region - and the pair aren’t household names, but it’s a Lancia HF Integrale on the top step of a rally podium. That doesn’t happen every day.
We all know the significance. Lancia continues to use ‘High Fidelity Integrale’ because it’s so inextricably associated with one of the greatest rally cars of all time. That the Delta was also such a revered road car only further cemented its legendary reputation. More than 30 years after the last one was made and almost 40 since the first Integrale, ‘Delta’ still only means one thing to car people.
So there’s never a bad time to feature a four-wheel-drive, box-arched Lancia, but it felt especially apt after such a notable victory. Like so many of its homologated contemporaries, from M3 to Lancer Evo, a combination of racing glory, a reputation as road car royalty and a world of heavier, duller fast cars has made the Delta valuable. While that isn’t really news any more, there’s no escaping the fact that a £200k car of any stripe (and they really are for sale at that much) has to be treated rather differently to a lot of other cars. You’re inevitably going to worry a bit. Imagine sourcing OEM parts for a 1995 Lancia, because like heck are you going to use anything but on such a valuable machine.
In that context, it’s easy to understand the considerable appeal of a car like this Evo I. It’s still new Alpine A110 money (if unlikely to depreciate much), but benefits from a ‘fast road’ spec that ought to make it even more exciting to drive than ever. As well as open to further modification down the line, if desired, rather than fretting about originality. And not enjoying one of the road-going rally car greats.
Over a decade, the previous owner - in collaboration with the selling dealer, which is a good sign - has plumped for a forged engine rebuild, with a few spicy extras meaning more than 300hp. There’s also Bilstein suspension fitted, said to ‘handle the poor UK roads excellently.’ With 85,000 miles recorded, it’s no low-mileage collectors’ item; for a long time, this is just how Integrales were used and enjoyed. While the look is iconic, it was the way Delta Integrales drove (and how they dominated rallies) that secured its status. So it’d be a shame not to make the most of that ability.
Clearly this one has been cherished along with the miles, red gleaming and interior in fine fettle. Even the HF mats look good for almost 35 years of use. It’s the best of both worlds: smart enough to draw a crowd, while still set up for pure driving fun. It’s actually the least expensive Evo on PH, too. £70k hardly makes it a cheap and cheerful classic, but Delta values seem pretty assured by now. And who knows - if Lancia keeps winning rallies again, maybe there’s even further to climb.
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Once upon a time I'd have loved on of these, but after a decade or 2 driving with nannying electronics and slow old reactions I'm not sure I'd enjoy it any more as I'd always be nervous of overstepping the mark.
Still regret not buying a heavily modified 8V that was local to me for just under £4K around the same time. I still have the advert somewhere in the classifieds of a Retro Cars magazine (first time around).
I had a 1991 16v about 3 years ago and I struggled to see what the appeal was. Lovely to look at but that’s the most positive thing I can muster up. A car I can appreciate from a distance; as an owner it was an expensive lesson in never meeting your heroes.
.So glad I sold the Integrale for £4.5k, great move….
I still own the EVO 6
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