Lancia Delta HF Integrale: six years of absolute dominance

The story of a Giugiaro compact that, in just five seasons, went from a rushed prototype to the most decorated macchina in the World Rally Championship.

6 consecutive manufacturers' titles · 4 drivers' titles

A compact that wasn't born with rallying in mind

The Delta was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro on the basis of the Fiat Ritmo: a compact with straight, modern lines that won the European Car of the Year title in 1980. Nothing in its original design anticipated what was to come.

The spark came in 1982. Audi had turned rallying upside down with the all-wheel drive of the Quattro, and Turin responded in its own way: with a prototype developed almost in haste, the Delta Turbo 4x4 — the seed of everything that followed.

Before the Integrale, there was a tragedy that changed the rules

The precursor was the Delta S4, a Group B missile with over 500 hp in its competition version. The category died after a series of fatal accidents, the last of which involved an S4 in the 1986 Tour de Corse, where Henri Toivonen and his co-driver Sergio Cresto lost their lives. Group B was banned, and the world rally championship had to reinvent itself with homologated road cars: Group A.

Debuting and winning the first race you enter

From that rule change came the Delta HF 4WD: 1,998 cc, 165 hp, Garrett T2 turbo, and a 56:44 power distribution between the axles managed by a central differential. Its competition version won the World Manufacturers' Championship in its first year, with a debut victory at the Rally of Monte Carlo.

The Integrale arrives: wider wheel arches and more turbo

In mid-1988, the HF 4WD becomes the HF Integrale proper: flared wheel arches, new transmission, revised chassis, and a Garrett T3 turbo with an enlarged intercooler that pushes the power above 185 hp. A fact for collectors: that first series was built with a very specific number in mind, 9,800 units, the minimum required to homologate the car in Group A.

Compared to rivals of the era such as the Ford Sierra Cosworth or the BMW M3 E30, the specialist press considered it the easiest to drive to the limit and the most stable of the three.

The only rally that ran in red instead of white

The Integrale 16V makes its debut at the 1989 Rally of Sanremo and, for the only time in its competition history, it does so painted in Italian red instead of the team's usual white livery. Biasion wins that race and, with it, Lancia takes its third consecutive manufacturers' and drivers' title. Confidence was such that that year they decided not to compete in the final round of the calendar, the RAC Rally of Great Britain.

Wider tracks, new brakes, and a nickname with an Italian accent

The Delta HF Integrale Evoluzione arrives: wider track, renewed brakes, and front suspension with greater travel. The wheel arches and hood grow so much that the tifosi start calling it "la Deltona" — the big Delta. It is offered in two versions, an 8-valve version with a catalytic converter (185 hp) and a 16-valve version without a catalytic converter (211 hp), and it is, technically, the most refined development of the car.

Sixth consecutive title. And then, retirement

With the growing pressure from increasingly fast Japanese rivals, Lancia achieves its sixth consecutive World Manufacturers' Championship — a record that no manufacturer has equaled since then — and decides to withdraw its official rally team at the very moment it is at the top.

The only Integrale that never raced: the Evoluzione II

Road demand remained so high that Lancia kept the car in the catalog for a couple more years with the Evoluzione II: 215 hp catalytic engine, smaller turbo to reduce lag, 16-inch wheels, and a more luxurious interior finish. It is the only HF variant that never had a competition version — it was developed exclusively for private customers. Production closes in 1994, when the second generation of the Delta arrives: a new platform, without all-wheel drive, that never achieved the same status.

It wasn't all glory