Lancia Delta HF Integrale – it was indeed love at first sight. When I first saw this incredibly compact and beefy Lancia with the attitude of a race car, I wanted to own this car and, more importantly, to drive it.
It must be quite an adventure driving this Lancia Delta HF Integrale at the limit on a winding country road. From my point of view, there is hardly a road car whose exterior design makes it so unmistakably clear what it was built for. The design is both exciting and a little scary at the same time.
Unfortunately, it was not possible for me to acquire this Lancia at the time for drifting in the streets. In times when there weren’t flashes on every corner, I would definitely have liked that.
But back to the purple Lancia Delta HF Integrale photographed here. It was an absolutely special experience for me to photograph this beauty, because it is a one-off. Not my first one-off in front of my camera lens but a very special one.
More specifically, this is the Delta Integrale Evo 3 built by Maggiora in 1994 called Viola.
The first generation of the Lancia Delta was created in 1979 by Giorgetto Giugiaro, who developed a compact hatchback based on the geometric motif of the trapezium. The European trade press voted the Delta „Car of the Year 1980“, confirming the success it had with the public from the very first appearance.
The Delta 1 presented at the IAA 1979 in Frankfurt was developed by Lancia to round off the range. As of November 1979, the Delta appeared at the dealerships for sale. The bodywork, designed by Girogetto Giugiara, was extremely elaborate. For example, the front and rear bumpers were made of fiberglass-reinforced polyester. Standard equipment with a rear window wiper, mirrors adjustable from the inside, three-speed wipers and an adjustable steering wheel were unusual for the time. Initially there were only two engine variants. The range of engines was gradually improved and expanded. Finally, in the fall of 1986, came the Delta HF 4WD with permanent four-wheel drive and a four-cylinder, 1995cc, 165hp engine.
Further developments of the HF 4WD are the Delta HF Integrale (1987), the HF Integrale 16V (1989) and finally the Delta HF Integrale Evoluzione. The extremely successful motorsport career with six world championship titles in the World Rally Championship from 1987 to 1992 brought Lancia enormous sales figures and made the hearts of the proud owners beat faster.
When the Delta HF Integrale saw the light of day in 1987, it offered a number of modifications, such as larger fender flares to accommodate wider tires and larger air intakes.
Inside, the new 6-speed gearbox was used and the weight was reduced by 23 kilograms. In addition, all suspension parts have been further reinforced to better withstand the demands of the rally tracks.
The Lancia Delta HF Integrale’s achievements in its epoch as the ultimate rally racer are unmatched. The Manufacturers’ World Championship was won six times (from 1987 to 1992), the Drivers’ World Championship four times (1987 to 1989 and 1991), the Production World Championship once (Group N 1987), and the European Rally Championship six times (1987 to 1991 and 1993) and twice the European Rally Production Championship.
A very special victory was the winning of the Safari Rally in 1988. Lancia tried to win this difficult test for many years and had narrowly failed each time. Also very important and above all impressive was the Rally Portugal in 1990 with four Lancia Delta HF Integrale in the first four places.
The mark that the Delta Integrale has left in motorsport history is indelible, as are the marks on the hearts of fans of this fantastic racing car.
The VIOLA shown here with its extraordinary color and the almost brutal beauty and its powerful appearance forms a dignified end to an exciting and special career. It was handcrafted as a one-off by Maggiora in Chivasso, in the former Lancia factory.
Maggiora was a body shop that built special vehicles and prototypes, often by hand. Among others they built the Glas 1300GT and 1700, the Bitter SC Coupé, the De Tomasa Mangusta and Pantera, the Bristol 412 and the Maserati Mistral.
But for me, the purple Lancia Delta HF Integrale Viola is Maggiora’s masterpiece.
Enjoy the pictures of this special vehicle , embodying the Italian way of design and motor racing, for me it was a pleasure to capture this very rare one off collector car. Find out more about our photographer Ralph Lüker.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION: Delta HF Integrale
MODEL Delta HF Integrale
TYPE 4/5 seater hatchback
YEAR OF PRODUCTION 1994
NUMBER OF BUILD CARS one-off
DESIGNER Giorgietto Giugiara
ENGINE front-mounted 4 cylinder in a row
BORE AND STROKE 84 mm x 90 mm
CUBIC CAPACITY TOTAL 1995 cc
VALVE TRAIN DOHC, 4 Valve per cylinder
TRANSMISSION 6-speed + 1 reverse manual
HORSEPOWER 215 bhp at 5750 rpm
TORQUE 314 Nm at 2500 rpm
COMPRESSION 8 : 1
FUEL FEED Electronic injection
ASPIRATION turbo charged
WHEEL DRIVE Four-wheel-drive
LENGHT 3900 mm
WIDTH 1770 mm
HEIGHT 1365 mm
WHEELBASE 2480 mm
TRACK FRONT / REAR 1502 mm / 1500 mm
WEIGHT WITHOUT FUEL 1340 kg
FUEL CAPACITY 57 liters
TYRES FRONT / REAR 205/45 ZR16
MAXIMUM SPEED 220 km/h
ACCELERATION 0 – 100 km/h 5,7 sec.
