Things were bad. There had been difficulties before for Lancia, but on both occasions the good guys had ridden over the hill to save the damsel in distress in the nick of time.
Back in 1955 Gianni Lancia had had to say goodbye to his eponymous company. Depending upon who you speak to, the reason for this parting of the ways varied from a lack of sales, through financial difficulties, to simple mismanagement arising from indulgence in motorsport and the resultant oh-so-easy haemorrhaging of money. There was a fourth possibility though and that was Gianni’s insistence upon construction of nothing but top-quality cars but at prices that didn’t cover the costs.
The Lancia car and truck business was taken over by Carlo Pesenti whose main interest was in cement. Problem was, he was also a bit of a car enthusiast. To the outside world and in particular to those who–if opened up like Queen Mary, the word Lancia would have been found instead of Calais written across their heart–this was a good thing. It meant that little changed over the years as the Aurelia B20 reached its zenith, the Appia received much praise and Ing. Fessia was allowed to deliver his Flavia. Finally, less than ten years after their failures in Grand Prix racing in ’55, Lancia returned to motorsport competition under the HF banner with Cesare Fiorio and later the gem of the Fulvia was announced. Pesenti also had grand ideas though, and he had spent lots of money investing in new accommodation in Turin, a factory at Chivasso and on a new flagship car, the Flaminia.
So, to all intents and purposes it looked like Viva Lancia, but beneath all this lurked many of the same problems that had beset Gianni ten or more years before. The cars were innovative, admired and beautifully engineered but, like BMC with the Mini, they simply weren’t selling enough of them to justify or cover their costs. Very sadly, it looked like it was all going to end in tears.
Well, it did and it didn’t. Toward the end of 1969, Lancia had to declare itself bankrupt. By this time it was exporting a miserable 5,000 cars out of total production of 37,000, although it must be said that consumer confidence had been dented by certain faults in the Flavia range of cars.
Pesenti had lost interest by this time, and so a general lack of management quality combined with trying to push the wrong products had spiralled into failure for the second time.
That catch-all company, Fiat, rode up on its stallion and saved the day by purchasing the shares for a nominal lira each. Where would Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Ferrari be now without them? Perhaps all those with Lancia or whatever embossed on their souls should not judge them too harshly….
At first all seemed to be heading in the right direction. There were mountains of debt to be surmounted and efforts were established to tackle this with, for example, the substitution of Fiat nuts and bolts for previously expensive Lancia equipment. The men from Lingotto actually made a sales success of the Fulvia by bringing out several new iterations of the much-loved model before the first new Fiat Lancia appeared in the shape of the Beta in the early 1970s.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing and despite all the sniggers, snide remarks and totally unnecessary media spotlight on television, certain aspects of the model caused Lancia sales, especially in Northern Europe, to plummet. The new model had in fact received favorable comment, especially in its coupe and innovative HPE versions. Sadly, to a media whose only interest is bad news, whether it’s true or not, the damage was done and it became clear, by the middle 1970s, that Lancia’s position in the marketplace needed to be strengthened and restated.
As far as Fiat was concerned, the answer was a completely new car that would confirm Lancia’s image of engineering innovation, excellence and integrity and would be the sort of vehicle that would brighten the Lancia name in those areas it was most tarnished.
At the time, a new concept in saloons had been launched by Volkswagen under the Golf name. This was a two-volume hatchback. The Wolfsburg company had relied for too long on sales of the iconic Beetle, and it had finally become clear that that was a fading light as sales were falling and its design was clearly from a bygone era.
Fiat watched as the Golf revived the flagging fortunes of VW and thought about how the same process could perhaps be applied to Lancia. It was Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign who had come up with the radical shape of the Golf, so Fiat gave him a call with a view to seeing if he could wave his magic wand closer to home with the same results.
Giugiaro was possibly at the height of his powers at the time because it was virtually unknown up to that point for an outside agent to be called in to design a Lancia. Besides, he had unfinished business as he was not particularly happy that the final production Golf fell short of his ideals, as far as interior finish and space were concerned. So, he set out to rectify these deficiencies with the new project. In particular, he had very clear views on what should be the distance from the pedals to the top of the rear seatback.
The initial intention was that the Delta—its planned name after Epsilon had been used during the development stage—would be a two-box four-door with an opening for a boot below the rear-window, but pressure from Lancia’s valuable French market and dealerships caused Fiat management in Turin to insist that the car should be a hatchback. Giugiaro was not happy about this as the strengthening required in the bodyshell to retain its rigidity would not only cause an increase in weight, with the penalty of higher fuel consumption, but there would also be consequent loss of valuable passenger space in the rear of the car.
While the two-box concept had been popularly initiated by Giugiaro, when asked at the launch of the new Lancia whether it had been seriously influenced by the Golf, he replied that no, he did not think so and that if there were any similarities with any other of his designs then he felt that the 1973 Asso di Picche (Ace of Clubs) concept car, completed for Audi Karmann, probably contained more suggestions of direction, especially in “its dihedrals and movement of side.”
The Delta was the first production car to appear with bumpers as an integral part of its bodywork painted the same color as the rest of the car. Almost every manufacturer in the world subsequently adopted this style, or color-coding, as it became called. The concept was so untried that it is remarkable to recall that Giugiaro had to take time to ensure that the technology was available then to achieve his desired effect.
His decision that the car should have a trunk was not the only part of his design proposals that did not come in for Lancia’s wholehearted approval; they also wanted the baggage area increased, and the problem was that Giugiaro saw this car as his ideal, a way of eradicating the Golf’s compromises. He saw the car with a bootlid under the rear window, a small luggage area and a back seat that, rather in the style of his later Panda, could be adjusted to slide forward and backward depending on the number of passengers and quantity of luggage being carried. So, to him, the small trunk was not a problem. As early as 1975, this arrangement was seen by Lancia as too expensive to implement, and they also requested that an extra 80-mm of overhang be incorporated into the rear to enlarge the boot area. This was definitely not on Giugiaro’s agenda as he had already decided there should be a clear mass of sheet metal behind the rear door shut and this extra requested length would do the car’s proportions no favors at all.
The solution? Look to the right of the rear door windows and there are two louvers at the leading edge of the sheet steel mass; they are there cleverly disguising the additional length and stayed right through to the last of the line Evolution 2 integrales of 1993-’94. Another Lancia insistence was a reduction in height of the tail-end edge of the roofline by 20-mm to suggest a more aerodynamic shape. This was also contrary to Giugiaro’s principles of interior space and comfort, the ideals of which he had set out to provide in the new Lancia having been thwarted by VW with the Golf. Even though he ultimately had to acquiesce to the demand, it certainly didn’t meet with his approval. Finally, Lancia required the tailgate to be of a sturdier and more robust design compared to Giugiaro’s almost delicate proposal, and they wanted it to reach down as far as the bumper so that he had to redesign the rear light clusters to the vertical, instead of horizontally as he had originally envisaged.
Part of Fiat’s rationalization policy of the late 1970s was the introduction of a small number of common floorpans that would be shared by models across marques. The new Lancia was thus to share the mid-sized underpinnings of the Ritmo, although its suspension arrangement would differ and the dimensions would obviously have an effect on Giugiaro’s final design. Fiat never allowed him to see what their take on the car was likely to look like until it was finally announced to the public. With hindsight, the original Ritmo’s lines could generously be described as innovative, but the model came up for a comprehensive facelift relatively early in its life, whereas Giugiaro’s Lancia stayed substantially as designed throughout its long 16-year career.
The Delta was launched at the Frankfurt Show in 1979 and went on to gain the coveted Car of the Year award for 1980. It was initially available as a 1500, 1300 five-speed or 1300 four-speed. With 85 bhp at 5,800 rpm, five speeds and a luxury interior, the new car found friends very quickly, although not without a few reservations. Reviewer John Bolster initially considered “refinement is the Delta’s middle name.” Autocar’s first full test described the newcomer as “a remarkably pleasing car,” and “its refinement ….is just about the class leader.” Bolster further commented that, “it can be driven hard without disturbing the passengers,” with “excellent roadholding on wet or dry roads.”
By 1982, a trunked version of the car, called the Prisma, was announced, and one of these models was the first Lancia road passenger car to be fitted with a diesel engine. It was also the first model to offer a four-wheel-drive version to the public. This was Lancia’s first publicly available response to the increasingly fashionable trend toward 4WD for new high-performance cars. As ever, Fiat/Lancia were playing safe, and the Prisma 4WD was seen to incorporate the system more for negotiation of difficult roads and practicality than sportiness.
The Turin Show in 1982 had revealed that Lancia might just have some fire still in its belly with the debut of a concept car called the Delta Turbo 4×4. This, in a Delta shell, offered the 1585-cc Lampredi twin-cam engine first offered in the Prisma as the 1600, but it was turbocharged and attached to a 4WD system largely developed by Italdesign. Ing. Marascotti at N Technology told me that much work was also carried out on the car at the Fiat Experimental Department, so there was definitely an air of great future potential and possibility with the 4×4 Delta if one read between the lines.
The launch of the first performance Delta came in 1982 when that 1585 twin-cam was dropped into the shell and the model was named the 1600 GT. It was joined later in the year by a startling turbo version. Fiat/Lancia had learned many lessons about turbocharging from their experiences running the Lancia Beta Montecarlo Turbos in the World Sportscar Championship, and the Delta version offered 130 bhp, 0-60 mph in 8.6 seconds and 121 mph. The Editor of Sporting Cars was moved to describe it in period as a “stunningly well-sorted sportscar in true Lancia tradition,” and in slightly more sober vein Motor Sport’s Bill Boddy said that it “puts a real slice of fun into family-car motoring.”
Fuel injection arrived in 1986, adding three bhp to the GT and ten to the Turbo, plus the appellation “i.e” added to their titles. Catalytic converters forced a marginal drop in performance from ’87, and both models received facelifts in ’91. Lancia also chose 1986 as the year to reveal to the public the first stirrings of an icon, and circumstances in the world of top-class world rallying played into their hands.
Motor sport rules place different types of car into different Groups, and by 1983 Group B covered special, purpose-built short-run rally cars. These cars were to dominate the World Rally Championship, but at the same time Group A catered for road cars that were allowed certain levels of modification to make them suitable and safe for special-stage rallies. Audi, with their quattro, was bent on domination of the series, but Lancia’s weapon, the 037, a rear-wheel-drive sportscar, stole the World title from them in 1983 by being the best car for the job and having both bad luck and incompetence displayed by Audi.
The Germans were better organized in ’84 and got their own back, by which point Lancia was working hard on a 4WD supercar to take them on, along with Peugeot. Lancia’s answer was the turbo and supercharged Delta S4 that bore little resemblance to the road car, short of nose-treatment, but was able to hit back at its two rivals successfully. This rivalry though had developed a line of virtual monsters with power outputs upward of 500-bhp and this, combined with the sheer stupidity of some rally spectators eager to see them perform and, in doing so, placing themselves in danger, the category started to receive much criticism from the rule makers. Eventually the drivers refused to commit themselves to the cars unless something was done to reduce the safety lottery that each event had become. This became evident at the Portugal Rally in 1986 and later that year, in Corsica, Henri Toivonen and Sergio Cresto lost their lives when their S4 endured an accident of remarkable ferocity that led to an immediate knee-jerk outlawing of these “monsters” from the end of the year.
Planned or not, when the FIA announced that as from January 1, 1987 only Group A cars, backed up by showroom-stock Group N cars, would be eligible to contest future World Rally Championships, Lancia management must have had an uncontrollable fit of the giggles when they realized that their latest version of the Delta, the road-going 4WD, was just perfectly placed to hit the special-stages of the world running.
The Delta HF 4WD had been introduced in May ’86, utilizing a 165-bhp two-liter turbocharged version of Aurelio Lampredi’s ubiquitous twin-cam engine and took what Cesare Fiorio, Lancia’s team manager, had called Audi’s “agricultural” 4WD transmission a step forward by incorporating not only a Ferguson viscous coupling in the central differential, but a Torsen (torque-sensing) example at the rear.
Clever? Right on the money! It was the beginning of a golden age for the Torinese marque. Each year it realized that to keep ahead of the opposition a better version of the car would have to be developed. The rallying rules at the time stipulated that in order for these cars to comply, at least 5,000 examples must be built in each 12-month period, so the public were able to derive much enjoyment from being offered ever more capable versions of these extraordinarily successful—and much-loved—automobiles.
From the HF 4WD, in November 1987 the first of the legendary “integrale” models burst onto the scene. These came with more power—up from 165 to 185-bhp—and extended wheel arches covering uprated suspension, brakes and wheels. The next step, in ’89, was the HF integrale 16V, with 200-bhp, that applied increasingly fashionable four-valve-per-cylinder technology to the still 1995-cc Lampredi twin-cam, while the power split between the front and rear wheels that had been set, up to this time, at 56/44, was altered to 47/53 for improved driveability.
Finally, in 1991 came the integrale Evolution, with 210-bhp. This development saw the whole car revamped to ensure it stayed competitive on the special stages as other manufacturers desperately tried to dislodge Lancia from its position of preeminence. Considerably wider wheel arches all around gave the suspension and wider wheels more room to move. An Evolution 2 version appeared later, thus retro-naming the 1991 car the Evo 1, but this was specifically just a road car with improved specification. As is the case with all manufacturers, special editions were produced as the model began to wane. In fact, there were no less than 11 different type examples of these, although none had modified mechanicals. Just one cabriolet version was built, and this was for the personal use of Agnelli, boss of Fiat. Incidentally, the car is now on the open market; it was built with the help of full Fiat Group R and D in Turin, so it was not a cut and shut job!
Driving these cars is every enthusiast’s dream. Right from the moment the HF4WD hit the showrooms, owners and journalists alike reported that through corners it “squats on its haunches and that’s what it really feels like as the rear axle gets to work and claws its way through as if possessed. We didn’t dare try to find the limits of its grip in the dry, that would have been foolish”.
Once in the driving seat of an integrale, one is faced with a small diameter, well-padded, steering wheel in front of a comprehensively stocked dashboard that tells you all you need to know. Speedometers were only ever in kph.
Starting the cars produces no outstanding soundtrack. Initially, there is nothing that belies the huge performance ability of these machines. This latter point cannot be over-emphasized; these cars were, and arguably still are, the fastest four-wheeled vehicles in the world on any give-and-take road from A to B.
They can be trundled along quite happily in normal traffic, but no one ever bought an integrale to do that. Yes, they are comfortably driveable at all times, but it is the performance that is the interest here.
Due to the initial front/rear torque distribution setup of the earlier 8-valve cars, these tended to understeer at the limit. It is not difficult to pull them back into line by throttle easing alone, but in the wet it was possible to set them up in a drift that was so pleasurable it was always a temptation to do so. Not a good idea with other traffic around though!
The arrival of the 16-valve cars and the alterations to the chassis that came along concurrently meant that the whole driving experience became more serious. They demanded more commitment from the driver but gave more back in return. A winding road was needed for the cars to display their immense prowess, with the front wheels clawing through a corner and the rears noticeably shoving from behind.
The power steering is superbly weighted and gives just the right amount of feel. Until the last cars there was no ABS as the grip when either accelerating or braking made that technology superfluous. The integrale—note always with a lower case “i”—is agile, nimble and with sensitively set up suspension and steering incredibly fast changes of direction can be undertaken while every version of the cars remain unruffled. “The integrale deployed every ounce of effort to devastating effect.”
However, they can and will bite back if one is stupid enough to provoke abnormal situations.
On a normal two-wheel-drive car with modern low-profile tires, the limit of adhesion involved in changing direction is dictated by the tires themselves. With an integrale, one can actually make use of this and, using techniques different from those normally accepted for other cars, get the most out of the chassis.
Driving an integrale, one can influence the forces acting on the tires in three ways: the traction forces of accelerating and braking, steering slip angles and weight distribution. By varying these, the integrale driver can extract more from its tires than with other cars, particularly in adverse conditions.
John Whalley of Bishops Stortford, UK, is an expert on the cars, both on special stages and public roads, and he told me: “The four-wheel-drive integrale can display the attributes of both front- and rear-wheel-drive cars, and the trick is to be able to know when it will do one or the other.
“If you get the answer right, the result is magic. If you get it wrong, the answer is confusing and, quite possibly, frightening. Most owners will have experienced this at some time or another.”
Treated with respect and understanding, the integrale will repay with staggering poise and agility; the alternative may well be tears.
Otherwise, I suppose the only basic downside with them is that, shaped rather like a brick, they only reach about 135 mph flat out, but as you can drive one as fast along a twisty main road as the average driver manages on a motorway well, who cares? Lancia never did.
The factory’s rallying activities stopped in 1993 in favor of the budget going to Alfa Romeo racing, but not until the Delta had set up a possible never-to-be-beaten record of six consecutive World Rally Championships. Two one-off concept cars were built on the base of the Delta, one being the Orca by Italdesign, while the other was the HIT by Pininfarina. Perhaps the most intensely desirable Delta spin-off was the Zagato Hyena, but sadly that project foundered after less than 100 were built.
By 1993 Lancia had announced the Delta replacement which had no pretensions to motorsport glory, and the last Deltas produced were integrale Evolution 2s by Maggiora at the former Lancia factory in Chivasso in 1994. History had gone full circle. The model had lasted 15 years and essentially had never been restyled; a lasting testament to Giugiaro’s genius.
SPECIFICATIONS
Body: Steel unit body
Wheelbase: 2,479-mm
Track: 1,516-mm
Weight: 2,954 pounds
Suspension: Front: Independent McPherson struts with lower wishbones and anti-roll bar. Rear: Independent McPherson struts with trailing arms, longitudinal reaction bars and anti-roll bar.
Engine: DOHC in-line 4-cylinder
Displacement: 1,995-cc
Bore/Stroke: 84-mm x 90-mm
Induction: Garrett T3 water-cooled turbocharger
Power: 215 bhp @ 5,750 rpm
Transmission: 5-speed with central differential and AWD
Brakes: Ventilated discs with ABS
Wheels: 7.5 J x 16
