Description
By: Peter Collins, Paul Baker .
The Lancia Delta integrale is one of the best known and most successful rally cars there has ever been. Dominating the sport after the demise of Group B, the integrale led the field for the better part of a decade, from the mid-eighties to the early nineties.
Based on a standard hatchback saloon designed by Giugiaro, which had been intended to spearhead a resurgence in Lancia's showroom appeal and was already approaching its sell-by date at the time of the rally version's introduction, the HF4WD and its various integrale successors, fitted with a sophisticated all-wheel-drive system, were ever more heavily re-engineered to ensure the famous Martini-liveried cars stayed at the forefront of world Group A rallying for so long.
Because of homologation rules that required a road version of all Group A cars to be made available to the public in minimum numbers of 5,000 units, these potent machines were not just the tools of professional rally drivers. Every new incarnation of the rally cars meant another batch of seriously exciting road cars could be purchased by the public with the result that these cars very rapidly gained cult status. This has shown no signs of waning despite the subsequent introduction by other manufacturers of road-going rally cars containing state-of-the-art electronic driver aids. Highly sought-after, the integrale still turns heads and tops many people's wish-lists.
Peter Collins' and Paul Baker's history of these iconic cars is the most complete yet. It includes much information from some of those intimately involved in the factory's all-conquering world rally organization, and takes a close look at the many special and unique models produced towards the end of the integrale's production run. Full details and specifications of each type are included and many rare illustrations make this a book no Lancia or World Rallying fan will want to be without.
