Muscle Car Designer Is Selling His Own 1992 Lancia Delta Integrale Evoluzione

That was the beginning of a love affair that lasted for six years. The car had traveled the world before finding Ralph Gilles. The Lancia Delta was designed by the famous Giorgetto Giugaro and born in Europe in the final year of the homologation rally cars. Lancia halted rally development after the win in the World Rally Championship in 1991. It was the brand's number 6 success.

This 1992 Lancia Delta Integrale set wheels on Japanese land, and then, it was shipped to America, where Ralph Gilles set eyes on the listing on Bring a Trailer. He is definitely a connoisseur. He knew what the Lancia Delta Integrale Evoluzione was all about. It was not just some pocket rocket. He knew it was a special breed with a massive injection of rallying DNA. Gilles wanted a heritage car, something that had no connection whatsoever to the HEMI V8 he was dealing with at work.

And the Lancia Delta Integrale seemed to fit his demand. It came with quite an impressive CV: six WRC Constructors' championship titles in a row, becoming a worthy successor of the Lancia Stratos.

He was, after all, the president and CEO of Chrysler's SRT brand when the Dodge Viper was sold as an SRT Viper. So he knew what those almighty power plants were all about. He dealt with them on a daily basis. He wanted something different. Something lighter. Something agile and grippy.

Gilles Ralph decided to rebuild the engine of the Lancia Delta Integrale Evoluzione

So he took the Lancia Delta Integrale Evoluzione home and decided to rebuild the turbocharged 2.0-liter DOHC inline-four engine, transversally mounted. The unit received Colombo & Bariani camshafts, an Eprom Fast Road ECU chip, a Walker Garage exhaust manifold, and a high-flow catalytic converter.

The Evoluzione version came with 207 horsepower (210 metric horsepower) and 220 pound-feet (300 Newton meters) of torque.

The inline-four sends the oomph to all four wheels (that's what "Integrale" is all about!) through a five-speed manual transaxle, a Ferguson viscous coupling center lock differential, and a Torsen limited-slip rear diff. The current owner also asked for the clutch kit to be replaced.

The car wears the head-turning Rosso Monza and Evo-specific bodywork. The day it drove through the gate of the factory in Chivasso, in northern Italy, sporting boxed fender flares to make room for the extended track width. An adjustable spoiler showed up at the back of the car.

It also received a vented hood, aftermarket bulbs, and fog lights. Ralph Gilles decided to switch the original badging with HF logos.

It rides on 15-inch Speedline alloy wheels finished in silver, with Abarth center caps and Kumho East V720 tires measuring 225/45 at all four corners. The car sports adjustable coilovers. Four-wheel anti-lock discs provide the stopping power. The owner replaced the brake pads when he purchased the Lancia, back in 2018.

There are Recaro seats at the front, wrapped in gray cloth with rectangular pattern stitching, extending to the rear bench, while the driver will hold a MOMO Corse steering wheel with a Lancia-branded horn button and a MOMO shift knob in carbon fiber.

Behind the steering wheel, there is the Veglia instrument cluster. It integrates a tachometer with a 6,500-rpm redline and a speedometer graded up to 240 kph (149 mph).

Less than 63,000 miles in 32 years on the road

Other gauges show boost pressure, voltage, coolant temperature, and fuel level. An Auto Gauge Stepmaster/Swiss boost pressure gauge is located on the left side of the steering wheel, while an aftermarket turbo timer showed up on the right.

Air conditioning and a Pioneer AM/FM/CD stereo are on board as well. The stereo is linked to a subwoofer located under the passenger's seat. There are power windows at the front.

The odometer shows 101,162 kilometers (62,859 miles) covered by the car in 32 years spent on the road. The current owner covered around 4,000 kilometers (2,485 miles) in this car.

The car goes on a dealer consignment in Arizona with the manufacturer's literature, a service book in Japanese, complete service records, a clean Carfax report, and a clean Michigan title.

Spare parts such as an oil pan, gaskets, plus the removed factory exhaust manifold are included in the sale.

With three days to go before the end of the online auction, the latest bidding hit $40,000. On the used car market, the average price of a Lancia Delta Integrale Evoluzione would gravitate around $100,000. There is still time for Ralph Gilles' car to hit that milestone on Bring a Trailer.