My father used to own a base model, even that had a level of power never witnessed before by us. Sadly, he had to trade it for a more modern car with AC system because of me being born and I will never forgive myself for that.
It's incredible seeing an old Lancia Delta that is not an Integrale on the road: They look like two completely different cars. One is a battered, out of fashion, old italian mid sized hatchback, the other is a beautiful icon with a sporty and beautiful design. PS an an italian, living a couple of kilometers away from where they built the Delta S4, I apprecaite the pronunciation effort.
It's hardly a beauty... 😂 The _original_ Delta design was particularly good - especially for a fwd platform - with distinctly balanced, co-ordinated proportions. Over time, the fine lines were taken over by more and more muscular features. Panels, arches, lumps and scoops stretched over overhauled suspension, wheels, induction and engine - looked tough for once-practical passenger car, but it was never beautiful.
Yeah, I suppose you could say the _early_ Integrale were handsome,@@Jack-tx2ve. Still, the extreme arches and bonnet bulges of final iterations, weren't 'gilding the lily', they were function over form.
I miss the time when you made a car look sporty by putting 4 round headlights on the front. In fact, that time was before I was born so I MISSED that time
Boring fact at the tender age of 18 I bought my first Delta with Turbo skirts and put black cardboard on the headlamps to make it look like an HF 4WD. I had to replace them regularly when it rained.
Bought my first lancia in February 1999, at 8v integrale Then replaced it in 2003 with an evo 1 which I still have Nothing puts a smile on my face and ups my heartbeat than this Fantastic car Fantastic video Thanks
I worked for a Lancia dealer in the early '80s and my firm's car was a Y10 Turbo, which was interesting to say the least. I drove almost all the cars in the range and I the car I remember most was the HF Turbo and the ie version that followed it. Despite having 130, and later 140 bhp it had narrower tyres than the XR3i and RS Turbo yet, still held the road really well and handled brilliantly. I always thought that was down to superior design and engineering. Unfortunately the spectre of the Beta was never far away.
My first exposure to the Delta was the Martini liveried rally car on the game Sega Rally which took on the Toyota Celica. I only knew it as a competitive race car.
@@craigluft7453 as said in the video, I grew up when Lancia had been pulled from the UK market so it's the same for me. I occasionally see Delta HFs on the road now but it's very rare.
Had the HF 4WD, 8v integrale and the 16v integrale too. Regret to this day ever selling them and remains my favourite car of all time, even with its flaws.
Looks like yet another Golf clone to me, not ugly, not attractive, completely generic, invisible, practical, but without inspiration. The Gamma is absolutely stunning though, truly beautiful and actually styled and created with beauty in mind, not merely assembled like a farm machine.
How this marque still survives is bewildering. One model on sale which few people buy and nothing much in the pipeline. It's such a pity that this manufacturer has fallen from such a height considering it made the most beautiful cars back in the day....
I am in the US. I have a historic Group N Integrale rally car in Martini livery (though it didn't rally in Martini colors in the day). I recently showed my car in a display of Italian vehicles that was part of a festival on Italian culture. The festival was held in Seattle Center, which is home to the Space Needle, several museums, and a small stadium where some kind of ball game was being played. Lots of the general public not there for the Italian festival went past the vehicle display. The people watching over the vehicle display said that there was a LOT of interest among those passing by in my car, an Integrale Evo, and a Lambo Aventador.
there's an Evo 2 in my country in black with white turbine-style wheels; first time I saw it was exhibited in a car stand on an expo over 20 years ago in Rally livery, saw it a couple years ago (no livery, just black paint) casually parked in a shopping mall in front of the restaurant we were in and people were stopping to take a closer look and taking pics, sometimes ignoring the red F360 and a new-ish Cayman parked a couple spots near it
Integrale > Lamborghini. It seems as though "exotics" are all about attention from general public, whereas Group A (or N) are treasured for their significance as the closest link between road cars and top level FIA motorsport. Looking forward to seeing a Martini 'Grale in the PNW👍
Integrale rally cars in Martini colors have been in a lot of video game and get attention from people who aren't necessarily into cars because of that.
I love your videos, a few corrections though. The electric ones took part in the World Rallycross Championship (not rally) and unfortunately both cars burnt down and took all the teams equipment in the same fire so no more Lancias there as well. Keep up the good work!
I never had a Delta but I did own 2 Lancias, a Beta coupe & a Monte Carlo. Thanks for your coverage on Italian cars, your knowledge is excellent and you seem to appreciate what is unique about them
A mate of mine used to work for Lancia delivering cars around the country including the Evos. I once went along for a ride in a customers Evo 2 that he was taking from London to Bishop's Stortford for a right hand drive conversion. I remember him picking me up outside my house and being utterly terrified when he immediately buried the throttle, the performance at the time was ballistic. I believe Jeremy Clarkson once referred to them as four wheel drive turbocharged thugs.
A cool thing: one of the Delta's design prototypes originated the FSO POLONEZ! FSO was originally planning to put 2.0 liter engine too, but the license to produce it was too expensive so they just adjusted the design with the Polski Fiat chassis.
This is a never confirmed myth. Both cars had totally different design preassumptions, since 137 prototype Polonez was based on, was meant to be rear wheel drive from the start.
Fell in love with the Delta in the mid 80s when I saw one on the coast road in Liguria near San Remo in the mid 80 s… in the gorgeous blue colour like the one at 10:30 in the video… an iconic colour like on the Betas and Trevis of the period. I had a facelifted 1986 1300 LX in red, fantastic little car until a front end crash wrote it off.. bodyshell creased at the top of the A pillar / roof junction and that was that..😢
I absolutely love the Delta - the original ‘cooking’ versions, HF Turbo and the various Integrales. I think they represent an era where Giugiaro was well and truly at the top of his game. I also liked the idea of an early ‘premium’ small hatchback - the competition took a while to catch on - but you can see the Delta’s inspiration behind the Audi A3, BMW 1 series and MB A class. Finally, does anyone else see a little Delta influence in the Hyundai Ioniq 5? Top marks by the way for the correct pronunciation of ‘Lancha’- not even Harry Metcalfe gets it right - and he owns 2!
Thanks soooo much, that you decided, to say Lancia and not Lansya in the whole video, so i could watch it and don't suffer :D I was once a proud owner of a 92' Delta Integrale HF (in red of course) - lord, how i regret selling that car today......
One of your better videos. I love Alfas. Lancia has never appealed to me, but you make a strong case with this video. I would like to drive one just for the experience.
The Lancia Delta Integrale was the pinnacle of coolness, performance and style. I use to drool everytime I saw one. A mini Ferrari that could be driven everyday, or almost!
Given the limited headroom it seems a bit odd to offer aircon and a sunroof at the same time.When you see the mould sink marks on the steering wheel in the early Delta advert you know that here's a quality product. At least it didn't get the Beta Trevi dashboard...
I saw the Chrysler version at the Detroit Auto Show (NAIAS), and really liked it, and thought it would be a good seller. However, most of my photos from that year were of the extreme high stiletto heels worn by the show stand models!! I was today years old when I learned that this version was actually sold in any market!
Very grateful that Alfa took the engine and drivetrain of the Integrale 16v and stuck it in a 155 (Q4) Had mine for 20 years. I'm under no illusions that it's as fast or nimble as an Evo but I i love knowing where it came from
It’s good to be reminded of these cars. I had an ‘86 Delta HF Turbo i.e. which was great fun. It had it’s down sides (continuous electrical gremlins, single figure m.p.g. when driven spiritedly, and an appetite for wheel bearings (or maybe that was my driving style) and I used to describe it as a four door, two seater as putting adults in the back seats wasn’t kind), but it was FUN. Miss it still. Replaced it with a 2 litre Dedra (thanks for mentioning them here, most people in the U.K. seem to have never heard of them) which was an enjoyable car, but definitely moved the dial more towards comfort over sport.
Great and informative video as always! As a Swede, I'm perfectly comfortable pronouncing it "Lansia" as a spear ("spjut") can also be called a "lans" in Swedish. It was in fact a fighter jet built by SAAB in 1956: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_32_Lansen
In the 80's Fiat/Lancia dealerships sold the 5 doors bone stock Delta as a family car because Fiat had only the 3 door Uno available at that time. Both had the same 1.3 engine and for that time already a 5 speed gearbox. The in height adjustable steeringwheel was also not seen often at that time. Bone stock means bonestock. no passenger side mirror, carburator instead of injection, in one piece foldable rear bench, no rev counter electric windows central locking. When the Punto MK1 arrived the Delta sales declined rapidly.
I bought a new 1979 Lancia Beta coupe back then when I was a young man. it was one of the best handling sport car I'd driven. I drove it hard and passed six cars in a roll on a two lane road. Six months later a drunk driver ran the red light and smashed and total my Beta. I used the insurance money to buy an Alfa Sprint...still have the sprint after all these years!
Great video, the Delta Integrale is one of my favorite cars! The Mk2 Delta on the other hand was such a letdown, the picture at 17:36 really shows its awkward rear-end design. I personally liked the styling of the Mk3 and briefly considered buying a used 1.8 turbo a couple years ago.
just found your channel... subbed! I own an evo 1 here in NYC (they of course were never sold here) and it goes unnoticed by many, but those who know, it makes their day/week/month/year even. I'm regularly beaten in it my your average crossovers now, being that it's over thirty years old, but it's still an incredibly fun car to drive. Although I wouldn't call it a 'hot hatch' as it was far above that back in it's day, as it had way more power, and was even faster than the Ferarri's of that time!
**World Rallycross (RX) Championship. (23:17). Very different racing to the WRC! The funny thing about the current Lancia Ypsilon is that, despite being an ancient 500-based hatch that's only sold in Italy, in recent years it outsold Alfa Romeo's _entire range_ that's sold all across Europe. That's both remarkable for Lancia and damning for AR... but it does suggest that an emotive return for its best known nameplate (outside the Stratos) could have some legs.
I had a 1982 Delta 1500 HLX for a short while in the early 90's. It was the same colour as the one shown at 0:40 with the exact same interior trim as the one shown at 4:05. Although it had a really nice quality interior, and a few design quirks compared to most mainstream cars (interior door release was inset into the door armrest, so not immediately obvious as they blended into the trim), or MacPherson strut suspension all round, it was also the most unreliable car I have ever owned and left me stranded on quite a few occasions. Also, things like the ride height being quire high so that body roll in corners was massive, and when cruising at 70mpg in 5th gear the engine was pulling almost 4,000 rpm which was ridiculous. Despite all this, I still remember it with fondness and if I had the money would consider buying a good condition HF Turbo. I probably would regret it as I would probably be left stranded somewhere, but at least it's a nice place to sit while waiting for the recovery truck. Again.
A guy at a pub I used to drink in had a basic 1.3 Delta - he was an Italian car nut so knew what he was getting into ( rust ) but he adored that car - it was simply a car that put more smiles on his face than any contemporary Escort would ever have done. Plus the Escort would have rooted just in places where you couldn't see.
I used to drive an Integrale in the 90ies and a Delta II HF in the early 2000s. Wonderful cars - especially the Integrale, which came in black without any exterior tuning and the back lights not looking much different as VW Polo of this time. Made others likely underestimate this car. Once, I was driving through a village exactly at legal speed, noticing an impatient big Mercedes S in the mirror - who of course started to overtake me even before the end of the village. At the sign, when he was around my height, I gave him a friendly smile and simply dove off, leaving him into dust without any chance. Satisfying. But most fun I've had on small, winding roads as they can be found in the mountains. It has been a nice time... *sigh* For Lancias future, it will be really hard to find a good positioning. They already managed (especially outside Germany) to establish Alfa Romeo as a more sporty brand giving you some exclusivity compared to Audi & BMW - not being a cheap option. I don't think that there is much potential for another sporty brand amid generally declining interest in technology & motorsports (beside F1) and changing perception of car-ownership in urban areas. In times when you can order an Vauxhall/Opel Astra with all the fancy options that 5 years ago have been exclusive for high-priced models of premium brands, It would be hard to define, communicate and deliver another "luxury" approach - especially, since others like Genesis are already there. The only gap that I currently see in the market would be a "conservative" brand. A line of modern cars, that refuse to follow the trend to total minimalism. Continue to have switches & knobs for all relevant functions, distributed in a good ergonomic way. Have a big display in front of the driver, a touchscreen integrated in the dashboard in the middle - with the possibility to control actions there with a Mazda or BMW - like knob alternatively.
Back in the mid 80's I had as my company car an Astra MK1 which I found to be very suitable for the "A,B, &C" roads of rural Scotland. Part of the job included the recovery of vehicles where their owners had reneged on the finance deal. One such job included the recovery of two Lancia Delta's. Both had minor faults that had to be repaired before they could be sold to clear the balance of finance. I was fortunate enough to buy one of them as I had fixed the problems they both had! (dislocation of the gear linkage). Even today 38+ years later I still regret selling that absolute dream of a road rocket, & having bought two more over the years which were eaten by the rust worm! The Delta is without doubt the best handling car that has been in mass production!
What a car, great in so many aspects, rightfully become an icon. I personally like also the Mk3 (that i remember sold more than the 2), still so diffused here in my zone
I drove both the SAAB Lancia 600 and the Lancia Prisma in the 80's. Great cars to drive. Felt quite luxurious. Nice cars when they worked. Unfortunately, the overall quality and reliability was terrible.
I drove a 9000 and I noticed a few Fiat's items in it, lol some even called it the Italian Saab. lol I still love it, has some issues, but overall reliable.
Always loved watching the likes of Markku Alen, Juha Kankkunen and Miki Biasion throwing GrA Deltas through the forests of Wales and leaving the competition for dead... You should absolutely cover the Fiat Strada / Ritmo story too. "Hand-built by (clearly intoxicated) robots..."
Lan ch'a. Love the dashboard of Delta. it's so beautifully laid out. Feel so sorry what happened to the brand even with all their iconic line-up of cars and top ideas with their engine designs.
The Italian auto industry. What annoys me is how they went from making things like the Strada 130tc, X1/9, Alfasud etc - they were accessible, fun cars that put a smile on your face because they were made with passion, but didn't break the bank - to what they make today.
About 20 years ago I was walking through a North Welsh village and passed an Integrale - red of course - that the owner had parked, windows open, with the keys in the ignition, presumably whilst they nipped back in their house for their sunglasses. In my mind, the dishonest me still reminisces on that missed opportunity where I stole a car I'd drooled over for many years and ragged it along those winding country roads at ridiculous speeds. I still think they look fantastic.
My father used to own a base model, even that had a level of power never witnessed before by us. Sadly, he had to trade it for a more modern car with AC system because of me being born and I will never forgive myself for that.
man, dont be so harsh on you
Make it up to him and get a Ypsilon Diamond
Beautiful car!
@@TL98its was sarcasm
😂
It's incredible seeing an old Lancia Delta that is not an Integrale on the road: They look like two completely different cars. One is a battered, out of fashion, old italian mid sized hatchback, the other is a beautiful icon with a sporty and beautiful design.
PS an an italian, living a couple of kilometers away from where they built the Delta S4, I apprecaite the pronunciation effort.
I appreciate the original shape of the Delta before the swollen arches etc.
It's hardly a beauty... 😂
The _original_ Delta design was particularly good - especially for a fwd platform - with distinctly balanced, co-ordinated proportions. Over time, the fine lines were taken over by more and more muscular features. Panels, arches, lumps and scoops stretched over overhauled suspension, wheels, induction and engine - looked tough for once-practical passenger car, but it was never beautiful.
@@assininecomment1630 No but it was handsome and stylish.
Yeah, I suppose you could say the _early_ Integrale were handsome,@@Jack-tx2ve. Still, the extreme arches and bonnet bulges of final iterations, weren't 'gilding the lily', they were function over form.
A good simple GTi.e 1.6 with its standards alloys, velvety seats and tinted windows was a nice sight.
I miss the time when you made a car look sporty by putting 4 round headlights on the front.
In fact, that time was before I was born so I MISSED that time
You can see pictures where they even had a rail on the cars to mount their big, Ship's Lamp-looking lights...
and go-faster-stripes made it go faster
@@DrWhom Only Martini stripes on a white Lancia
Boring fact at the tender age of 18 I bought my first Delta with Turbo skirts and put black cardboard on the headlamps to make it look like an HF 4WD. I had to replace them regularly when it rained.
Being Italian I could not thank you enough for pronouncing correctly the word for spear instead of "the anxiety" (l'ansia). ❤😊
The Anxiety is the name of my car.
@@jd_the_cat 🤣
@@jd_the_catcan relate 😂 especially when it loves to stay in the workshop instead of going for a drive
Heated front seat on a compact way back then? Wow!
Even air conditioning would have been unheard of in 1980s European affordable cars.
Bought my first lancia in February 1999, at 8v integrale
Then replaced it in 2003 with an evo 1 which I still have
Nothing puts a smile on my face and ups my heartbeat than this
Fantastic car
Fantastic video
Thanks
It's a blessing when Big Car uploads. Thanks again for another amazing video!
I worked for a Lancia dealer in the early '80s and my firm's car was a Y10 Turbo, which was interesting to say the least. I drove almost all the cars in the range and I the car I remember most was the HF Turbo and the ie version that followed it. Despite having 130, and later 140 bhp it had narrower tyres than the XR3i and RS Turbo yet, still held the road really well and handled brilliantly. I always thought that was down to superior design and engineering.
Unfortunately the spectre of the Beta was never far away.
A legend, we never had Lancia in Brasil but I can feel the spirit from far
Well said
My first exposure to the Delta was the Martini liveried rally car on the game Sega Rally which took on the Toyota Celica. I only knew it as a competitive race car.
same. I don't know if Lancia has ever been in America, so Sega Rally was the only place I ever heard of Lancia until I started watching Top Gear
@@craigluft7453 as said in the video, I grew up when Lancia had been pulled from the UK market so it's the same for me. I occasionally see Delta HFs on the road now but it's very rare.
Among a veritable sea of absolute gems, in my opinion the Integrale is still the ultimate 80s car.
Had the HF 4WD, 8v integrale and the 16v integrale too. Regret to this day ever selling them and remains my favourite car of all time, even with its flaws.
Yikes. Sorry for your loss 😢.
Lucky you. I’ve always wanted an intergrale but every time I get close to being able to afford one they go up in value again.
What a simply stunning machine.
I remember seeing one on Wheeler Dealers so many years ago and thinking yeah, that is forever cool.
Looks like yet another Golf clone to me, not ugly, not attractive, completely generic, invisible, practical, but without inspiration.
The Gamma is absolutely stunning though, truly beautiful and actually styled and created with beauty in mind, not merely assembled like a farm machine.
That Lancia Delta episodes (back when it was 2x30 minute episodes rather than a single 60 minutes one) were the ones that introduced me to the show.
@@ivaneurope such fond memories
@@Jack_Stafford 1st Golf was styled in Italy. Not Germany, because Germans have no taste... Greets NL.
The Lancia Beta story would make for a good 5min video. I doubt it would get 200k views, but Betas were an interesting bunch of cars. Cheers Andy.
Kappa too
How this marque still survives is bewildering. One model on sale which few people buy and nothing much in the pipeline. It's such a pity that this manufacturer has fallen from such a height considering it made the most beautiful cars back in the day....
I am in the US. I have a historic Group N Integrale rally car in Martini livery (though it didn't rally in Martini colors in the day). I recently showed my car in a display of Italian vehicles that was part of a festival on Italian culture. The festival was held in Seattle Center, which is home to the Space Needle, several museums, and a small stadium where some kind of ball game was being played. Lots of the general public not there for the Italian festival went past the vehicle display. The people watching over the vehicle display said that there was a LOT of interest among those passing by in my car, an Integrale Evo, and a Lambo Aventador.
I would take a Delta evoluzione over an Aventador any day.
there's an Evo 2 in my country in black with white turbine-style wheels; first time I saw it was exhibited in a car stand on an expo over 20 years ago in Rally livery, saw it a couple years ago (no livery, just black paint) casually parked in a shopping mall in front of the restaurant we were in and people were stopping to take a closer look and taking pics, sometimes ignoring the red F360 and a new-ish Cayman parked a couple spots near it
Integrale > Lamborghini.
It seems as though "exotics" are all about attention from general public, whereas Group A (or N) are treasured for their significance as the closest link between road cars and top level FIA motorsport.
Looking forward to seeing a Martini 'Grale in the PNW👍
Integrale rally cars in Martini colors have been in a lot of video game and get attention from people who aren't necessarily into cars because of that.
@@alanperry8676 Yes super cars are generally for the man that needs a penis extension.
Cars like the Lancia are for car enthusiasts.
Thank you for pronouncing it correctly
I love your videos, a few corrections though. The electric ones took part in the World Rallycross Championship (not rally) and unfortunately both cars burnt down and took all the teams equipment in the same fire so no more Lancias there as well. Keep up the good work!
Thanks for the correction.
I never had a Delta but I did own 2 Lancias, a Beta coupe & a Monte Carlo.
Thanks for your coverage on Italian cars, your knowledge is excellent and you seem to appreciate what is unique about them
A mate of mine used to work for Lancia delivering cars around the country including the Evos. I once went along for a ride in a customers Evo 2 that he was taking from London to Bishop's Stortford for a right hand drive conversion. I remember him picking me up outside my house and being utterly terrified when he immediately buried the throttle, the performance at the time was ballistic. I believe Jeremy Clarkson once referred to them as four wheel drive turbocharged thugs.
Do you remember what Jeremy said about the cossie. "When I started it in a morning it always says do you want some" 🤣
Lol 😅when it comes to JC and cars, it takes a thug to know a thug I’ve always considered Jeremy the world’s oldest pre-teen!
It sounds like a bear a burning bear. Has to be my favourite talking about a Ferrari. He's a legend
Times when manufacturers had to deliver rally car to customers first, to be able to use it on rally stages.
Do the Giorgietto Giugiuaro story !!
Thanks for a great video and for actually pronouncing the name Lancia correctly! Not sure why so many others can't!
A cool thing: one of the Delta's design prototypes originated the FSO POLONEZ! FSO was originally planning to put 2.0 liter engine too, but the license to produce it was too expensive so they just adjusted the design with the Polski Fiat chassis.
They even shoved a Stratos engine in the back of a Polonez back in 1978
Now I want to see an AWD rally Polonez
@@BalkanTimberMan ruclips.net/video/4CDuKBs7wd4/видео.htmlsi=Hbdhne9pWBHUGu-d
@@claudiobizama5603 The Polonez 2000, it was used on Rally.
This is a never confirmed myth. Both cars had totally different design preassumptions, since 137 prototype Polonez was based on, was meant to be rear wheel drive from the start.
Now we need to get people in the UK to pronounce Peugeot correctly. 🤣. Love you guys!!
However, I will concede, We in the US need to start pronouncing Jaguar correctly. 👍
Before or after they learn to pronounce Porsche properly?
Poo-show... 😂
Pew Got ?
Pu-JZYOE
When I spot a new "Big Car" video in my notifications. It always makes me happy.
Yeah, me too. Andy is a good storyteller.
Fell in love with the Delta in the mid 80s when I saw one on the coast road in Liguria near San Remo in the mid 80 s… in the gorgeous blue colour like the one at 10:30 in the video… an iconic colour like on the Betas and Trevis of the period. I had a facelifted 1986 1300 LX in red, fantastic little car until a front end crash wrote it off.. bodyshell creased at the top of the A pillar / roof junction and that was that..😢
One of my favorite cars of all time.
Thanks Mr. Big!
I absolutely love the Delta - the original ‘cooking’ versions, HF Turbo and the various Integrales. I think they represent an era where Giugiaro was well and truly at the top of his game. I also liked the idea of an early ‘premium’ small hatchback - the competition took a while to catch on - but you can see the Delta’s inspiration behind the Audi A3, BMW 1 series and MB A class. Finally, does anyone else see a little Delta influence in the Hyundai Ioniq 5? Top marks by the way for the correct pronunciation of ‘Lancha’- not even Harry Metcalfe gets it right - and he owns 2!
Bedankt, ga door met deze mooie mix van kennis en nostalgie!
Bedankt voor de vriendelijke donatie. Ik ben blij dat je genoten hebt van de video.
Thanks soooo much, that you decided, to say Lancia and not Lansya in the whole video, so i could watch it and don't suffer :D
I was once a proud owner of a 92' Delta Integrale HF (in red of course) - lord, how i regret selling that car today......
A huge THANK YOU from an Italian motor enthusiast who can't stand the English pronunciation of this classic Italian brand! 😊
What a iconic and timeless beauty of a car
Interestingly, and contrary to the comment, red is the rarest color for an Integrale. Black is the most common.
The delta integrale cabrio was actually owned by the then Fiat CEO Gianni Agnelli
Somewhat quoting Al Bundy: "I cry for this brand!"
A superb video, as always. You channel is more like watching TV than RUclips :)
One of your better videos. I love Alfas. Lancia has never appealed to me, but you make a strong case with this video. I would like to drive one just for the experience.
The Lancia Delta Integrale was the pinnacle of coolness, performance and style. I use to drool everytime I saw one. A mini Ferrari that could be driven everyday, or almost!
Given the limited headroom it seems a bit odd to offer aircon and a sunroof at the same time.When you see the mould sink marks on the steering wheel in the early Delta advert you know that here's a quality product. At least it didn't get the Beta Trevi dashboard...
I saw the Chrysler version at the Detroit Auto Show (NAIAS), and really liked it, and thought it would be a good seller. However, most of my photos from that year were of the extreme high stiletto heels worn by the show stand models!! I was today years old when I learned that this version was actually sold in any market!
BABE WAKE UP A NEW BIG CAR VIDEO JUST DROPPED
I've still got this poster on my bedroom wall since 1991.
And let me say. You still lived with your Mum 😂
Very grateful that Alfa took the engine and drivetrain of the Integrale 16v and stuck it in a 155 (Q4) Had mine for 20 years. I'm under no illusions that it's as fast or nimble as an Evo but I i love knowing where it came from
I had a HF turbo and a 8v integrale, people i haven't seen for years still tell me how much they loved my integrale when i see them
1500 views in just a half an hour. We have been waiting your fresh video definitely!
I WAS NEVER THAT EARLYYY
So glad you're covering this! Time to open a beer and enjoy 😁
The Lunch Ere Stratos was stunning.
I’ve been waiting for this one since I started watching your channel.what a legendary machine
It’s good to be reminded of these cars. I had an ‘86 Delta HF Turbo i.e. which was great fun. It had it’s down sides (continuous electrical gremlins, single figure m.p.g. when driven spiritedly, and an appetite for wheel bearings (or maybe that was my driving style) and I used to describe it as a four door, two seater as putting adults in the back seats wasn’t kind), but it was FUN. Miss it still.
Replaced it with a 2 litre Dedra (thanks for mentioning them here, most people in the U.K. seem to have never heard of them) which was an enjoyable car, but definitely moved the dial more towards comfort over sport.
My 2.0 SE Dedra ranks as one of my all time favs, fast, reliable - burned a bit of oil - very comfortable and roomy.
That 25 minutes flew by!!
another great presentation - top job sir
The back end of the Ypsilon seems to have style elements inspired by the 1939 Lancia Aprilia.
Great and informative video as always! As a Swede, I'm perfectly comfortable pronouncing it "Lansia" as a spear ("spjut") can also be called a "lans" in Swedish. It was in fact a fighter jet built by SAAB in 1956: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_32_Lansen
Great quality content as usual! Thanks for all your efforts and thank you for injecting so much humor, you had me cracking up! 🤣
My first car HF-turbo in red. Loved the styling and driving. Prisma also very beautiful.
I love this car. Thx for this comprehensive history.
Great video!! Thank you!!!
Wow! So looking forward to this video. One of my all time favorite cars. Peak Lancia
In the 80's Fiat/Lancia dealerships sold the 5 doors bone stock Delta as a family car because Fiat had only the 3 door Uno available at that time.
Both had the same 1.3 engine and for that time already a 5 speed gearbox.
The in height adjustable steeringwheel was also not seen often at that time.
Bone stock means bonestock. no passenger side mirror, carburator instead of injection, in one piece foldable rear bench, no rev counter electric windows central locking.
When the Punto MK1 arrived the Delta sales declined rapidly.
I bought a new 1979 Lancia Beta coupe back then when I was a young man. it was one of the best handling sport car I'd driven. I drove it hard and passed six cars in a roll on a two lane road. Six months later a drunk driver ran the red light and smashed and total my Beta. I used the insurance money to buy an Alfa Sprint...still have the sprint after all these years!
My dad has an early 8V Integrale, absolutely incredible car to drive
Great video, the Delta Integrale is one of my favorite cars!
The Mk2 Delta on the other hand was such a letdown, the picture at 17:36 really shows its awkward rear-end design.
I personally liked the styling of the Mk3 and briefly considered buying a used 1.8 turbo a couple years ago.
The Mk2 Is nicknamed "Deltasud"... the Delta with Alfasud-like design.
As an Italian I have to say what happened to the Lancia Delta makes me want to cry. Looks like Subaru carried on the torch with the the Impreza WRX.
Loved this so much, please do a Lancia Thesis video one day.
Beautiful car Lancia Thesis.
just found your channel... subbed!
I own an evo 1 here in NYC (they of course were never sold here) and it goes unnoticed by many, but those who know, it makes their day/week/month/year even. I'm regularly beaten in it my your average crossovers now, being that it's over thirty years old, but it's still an incredibly fun car to drive. Although I wouldn't call it a 'hot hatch' as it was far above that back in it's day, as it had way more power, and was even faster than the Ferarri's of that time!
Yes a lancia video I love the Italian car vids
Really enjoy your videos - thank you very much!
Thanks for your support!
The old Delta was similar shaped to the MK2 Golf. Then there was the Golf G60 and Rallye with the flared arches.
It's funny how the Rallye Golf went from double round headlights to rectangular ones, the opposite of the Delta
**World Rallycross (RX) Championship. (23:17). Very different racing to the WRC!
The funny thing about the current Lancia Ypsilon is that, despite being an ancient 500-based hatch that's only sold in Italy, in recent years it outsold Alfa Romeo's _entire range_ that's sold all across Europe. That's both remarkable for Lancia and damning for AR... but it does suggest that an emotive return for its best known nameplate (outside the Stratos) could have some legs.
bring back these types of vehicles. please! love this look, i am bias as i owned a 1980 VW Rabbit. love this inexpensive style of car.
I thought it was a Scirocco?
80 vw scirocco and 80 rabbit, 84 1/2 scirocco, 73 square back, and 4 bugs. 😅
I had a 1982 Delta 1500 HLX for a short while in the early 90's. It was the same colour as the one shown at 0:40 with the exact same interior trim as the one shown at 4:05. Although it had a really nice quality interior, and a few design quirks compared to most mainstream cars (interior door release was inset into the door armrest, so not immediately obvious as they blended into the trim), or MacPherson strut suspension all round, it was also the most unreliable car I have ever owned and left me stranded on quite a few occasions. Also, things like the ride height being quire high so that body roll in corners was massive, and when cruising at 70mpg in 5th gear the engine was pulling almost 4,000 rpm which was ridiculous.
Despite all this, I still remember it with fondness and if I had the money would consider buying a good condition HF Turbo. I probably would regret it as I would probably be left stranded somewhere, but at least it's a nice place to sit while waiting for the recovery truck. Again.
So, it's a Lancer.
Got it.
Oh and I was TODAY years old (49} when I first heard about the S4 Stradale!
What a delight!
❤
Ooh that zagato cabriolet 😮
Finally, someone covered the Delta
I had a HF Turbo. I really loved it.
A guy at a pub I used to drink in had a basic 1.3 Delta - he was an Italian car nut so knew what he was getting into ( rust ) but he adored that car - it was simply a car that put more smiles on his face than any contemporary Escort would ever have done. Plus the Escort would have rooted just in places where you couldn't see.
Nothing like being rooted in places you can’t see!
I used to drive an Integrale in the 90ies and a Delta II HF in the early 2000s. Wonderful cars - especially the Integrale, which came in black without any exterior tuning and the back lights not looking much different as VW Polo of this time. Made others likely underestimate this car.
Once, I was driving through a village exactly at legal speed, noticing an impatient big Mercedes S in the mirror - who of course started to overtake me even before the end of the village. At the sign, when he was around my height, I gave him a friendly smile and simply dove off, leaving him into dust without any chance. Satisfying.
But most fun I've had on small, winding roads as they can be found in the mountains.
It has been a nice time... *sigh*
For Lancias future, it will be really hard to find a good positioning.
They already managed (especially outside Germany) to establish Alfa Romeo as a more sporty brand giving you some exclusivity compared to Audi & BMW - not being a cheap option.
I don't think that there is much potential for another sporty brand amid generally declining interest in technology & motorsports (beside F1) and changing perception of car-ownership in urban areas.
In times when you can order an Vauxhall/Opel Astra with all the fancy options that 5 years ago have been exclusive for high-priced models of premium brands, It would be hard to define, communicate and deliver another "luxury" approach - especially, since others like Genesis are already there.
The only gap that I currently see in the market would be a "conservative" brand.
A line of modern cars, that refuse to follow the trend to total minimalism.
Continue to have switches & knobs for all relevant functions, distributed in a good ergonomic way. Have a big display in front of the driver, a touchscreen integrated in the dashboard in the middle - with the possibility to control actions there with a Mazda or BMW - like knob alternatively.
Danke!
Danke auch Joerg!
Back in the mid 80's I had as my company car an Astra MK1 which I found to be very suitable for the "A,B, &C" roads of rural Scotland. Part of the job included the recovery of vehicles where their owners had reneged on the finance deal. One such job included the recovery of two Lancia Delta's. Both had minor faults that had to be repaired before they could be sold to clear the balance of finance. I was fortunate enough to buy one of them as I had fixed the problems they both had! (dislocation of the gear linkage). Even today 38+ years later I still regret selling that absolute dream of a road rocket, & having bought two more over the years which were eaten by the rust worm! The Delta is without doubt the best handling car that has been in mass production!
What a car, great in so many aspects, rightfully become an icon. I personally like also the Mk3 (that i remember sold more than the 2), still so diffused here in my zone
I drove both the SAAB Lancia 600 and the Lancia Prisma in the 80's. Great cars to drive. Felt quite luxurious. Nice cars when they worked. Unfortunately, the overall quality and reliability was terrible.
I drove a 9000 and I noticed a few Fiat's items in it, lol some even called it the Italian Saab. lol I still love it, has some issues, but overall reliable.
The GREATEST rally car EVER!
PERIOD.
Always loved watching the likes of Markku Alen, Juha Kankkunen and Miki Biasion throwing GrA Deltas through the forests of Wales and leaving the competition for dead...
You should absolutely cover the Fiat Strada / Ritmo story too. "Hand-built by (clearly intoxicated) robots..."
Lan ch'a. Love the dashboard of Delta. it's so beautifully laid out. Feel so sorry what happened to the brand even with all their iconic line-up of cars and top ideas with their engine designs.
The last Delta was GORGEOUS! I love Lancia cars, so elegant!
You can always trust the Italians to make great looking cars.
Very interesting video thanks
I had that red Lego car when I was a little turd back in the 1980's. Haven't seen one since. Thanks for the flashback to a great time.
It was very sturdy compared to previous (and newer) Lego cars - you could drop it from 2 feet in the air without anything falling off.
A great car, design, power.. all!
Great video, here in England my great uncle bought a base blue 5 door new, I could never understand why!
Been waiting for this video since Jeremy spoke about lancia
Delta HF Intergrale Evoluzione, A true legendary hero
Brilliant video - thank you. My family had Lancia's and for us they were great cars. Performance, style and practical too.
That was really good thank you. My goodness those later Delta's looked bloody awful.
Great video as always!
I can't support Patreon, but I'll leave a like, I love these videos.
Didn't even know there was a second and third generation Delta! But given I live in the UK not overly surprised!
The Italian auto industry. What annoys me is how they went from making things like the Strada 130tc, X1/9, Alfasud etc - they were accessible, fun cars that put a smile on your face because they were made with passion, but didn't break the bank - to what they make today.
About 20 years ago I was walking through a North Welsh village and passed an Integrale - red of course - that the owner had parked, windows open, with the keys in the ignition, presumably whilst they nipped back in their house for their sunglasses. In my mind, the dishonest me still reminisces on that missed opportunity where I stole a car I'd drooled over for many years and ragged it along those winding country roads at ridiculous speeds. I still think they look fantastic.
I still got one. A late HF turbo - Golf GTI killer.