Lancia Delta

The Delta at a glance

From Giugiaro sketch to 478,645 cars

Lancia wanted a premium compact car above the Fiat range, and Giugiaro's Italdesign drew a sharp, upright five-door hatchback. The Delta used a strengthened version of the Fiat Ritmo floorpan, with MacPherson strut suspension taken from the Lancia Beta. It was presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1979 and won European Car of the Year for 1980.

Sales started quickly: 43,000 cars in 1980, more than 100,000 by the end of 1981 and the 200,000th car on 9 March 1984. From 1980 to 1982 Saab also sold a rebadged version, the Saab-Lancia 600, in Scandinavia. Production of the regular front-wheel-drive versions wound down in the early 1990s, while the Integrale continued until 1994. In total, 478,645 first-generation Deltas were built.

Ritmo underpinnings and the four-wheel-drive conversion

The Delta's body was a crisp two-box shape with a short bonnet and a large glass area, designed for good space in a compact length. The interior was trimmed to a higher standard than Fiat's, which suited Lancia's premium position. The front-wheel-drive layout, transverse engines and strut suspension were conventional. What made the car special was how well the basic structure accepted four-wheel drive and turbocharging later on.

The HF 4WD of 1986 added permanent four-wheel drive with a centre differential and a Torsen rear differential. The Integrale versions widened the track and added flared wheel arches to fit bigger wheels and brakes, giving the car its famous muscular stance.

Delta engines from 1.3 to Evo 2

By our calculation the Evo 2 has almost three times the power of the original 1.3, from an engine only about 50 % larger.

Lancia Delta HF Integrale specifications

Saab-Lancia 600, S4, Nuova Delta and the 2008 car

Ercole Spada at I.DE.A styled the second generation. It used the Fiat Tipo platform and stayed front-wheel drive, with up to 142 kW (193 PS) in the HF. The third, revealed at Geneva in 2008, used the Fiat Bravo platform with a 2,700 mm wheelbase and engines from 77 to 147 kW (105–200 PS), including a 1.9 twin-turbo diesel.

Six titles in a row: the rally years

The Delta's motorsport story began with the Delta S4, a mid-engined Group B car that raced from the 1985 RAC Rally until Group B was banned after the 1986 season. Lancia then turned to Group A with the road-based HF 4WD and Integrale. They dominated: six consecutive manufacturers' titles from 1987 to 1992, drivers' titles for Juha Kankkunen in 1987 and 1991 and Miki Biasion in 1988 and 1989, and 46 World Rally Championship wins.

The rally success is why the Integrale is remembered while the ordinary Delta has largely disappeared. Its rivals of the 1980s were the Volkswagen Golf, Ford Escort and Opel Kadett, as the old 1cars text noted. The full Golf story is on the Volkswagen Golf page, and the four-wheel-drive pioneer that changed rallying before the Delta is the Audi Quattro.

How the Integrale compared with its rally rivals

In Group A the Integrale faced cars built on the same idea: a road-going four-wheel-drive turbo hatchback or coupé sold in enough numbers to qualify. Toyota's Celica GT-Four was the strongest rival and gave Carlos Sainz the drivers' titles of 1990 and 1992, but Lancia still won the manufacturers' title in both years. Ford's Sierra RS Cosworth 4x4 and Mitsubishi's Galant VR-4 won rallies without matching the Delta's consistency. Toyota finally took the manufacturers' crown in 1993, after Lancia had scaled back its official involvement.

Compared with these rivals, the Delta was smaller, shorter and older in design, which helped on narrow stages. Its success also shows how much a homologation special can lift a brand: the Integrale accounts for under 10 % of first-generation Delta production, by our count, yet it defines the car's reputation. Modern hot hatchbacks with similar power are listed in the ranking of the quickest hatchbacks.

Buying and collecting a Delta today

The car to own is the HF Integrale, preferably a 16v or an Evoluzione with full history. Values have risen strongly, so originality and documentation matter more than mileage. Typical problems are rust in the sills, floor and tailgate, worn four-wheel-drive components, turbo and cooling issues, and hard-to-find interior and body trim. Expect specialist servicing and budget for parts imported from Italy.

The regular 1.3–1.6 Deltas are cheap but rare, because most were scrapped. The Nuova Delta HF is an affordable curiosity, and the 2008–2014 Delta is simply a stylish used family car with Fiat running gear. To compare classic hatchbacks, use the 1cars comparison tool and browse the 1980s classics section. More on the brand is in the history of Lancia, and its earlier rally icon is the Lancia Stratos.