When Lancia debuted the Delta in 1979, little did it know that it would become a rally-winning legend and one of the most iconic hot-hatchbacks ever built. Introduced with a range-topping 1.5-liter four-cylinder that delivered only 84 horsepower, the Delta evolved into an HF Integrale monster good for more than 200 horsepower in the early 1990s.
The first-gen Delta was quite successful. As a result, it remained in production for a whopping 15 years. Lancia introduced the first performance-oriented model, the HF, in 1983. A turbo model followed in 1985. But the Delta didn't morph into a full-fledged performance car until Lancia took it rallying.
As the 037 became obsolete for Gr,oup B racing, Lancia developed the extreme Delta S4. However, with the range-topping category abolished at the end of the 1986 season, Lancia turned the Delta into a Group A racer. And what followed was a string of 46 victories that brought Lancia no fewer than six back-to-back constructors' championships, a record that has yet to be beaten.
As Markku Alen, Juha Kankkunen, Miki Biasion, and Didier Auriol were winning rallies the world over for the Italian outfit, Lancia was rolling out high-performance Deltas for street use. The HF Integrale debuted in 1987 with 182 horsepower, followed by the 197-horsepower 16V version in 1989.
Two years later, Lancia took things up a notch with the Integrale Evo1, the first to surpass the 200-horsepower mark with an output of 207 horses. In 1993, the Evo2 arrived as the Delta to end all Deltas with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder good for 212 horsepower and 232 pound-feet (314 Nm) of torque.
The original Delta was followed by a second-gen model in 1993 and a modern iteration launched in 2008, but none of them managed to recapture the glory of Lancia's primordial hatchback. It's 2021 and gearheads are still worshipping the first-gen Delta. If you're also a fan of the Italian hatchback, the video below showing a Delta HF Integrale on the dyno will put a massive grin on your face.
Sure, it's not an ultra-rare Evo model with fender flares and an aero kit, but this Integrale's four-banger breathes through a rally-spec exhaust and sounds downright glorious while revving toward 6,000 rpm on the dyno. Be careful with that volume knob, though, because this thing pops and bangs so loud that it might just be the last thing you hear.
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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