Lancia Delta HF Integrale Martini Edition
Lancia’s compact model Delta was introduced in 1979. Yet only after it had been on the market for five years did the company start thinking about a performance version. Lancia was always big in rally sports and after their Group B model S4 was banned, they wanted something that could work well on the street and the track. So the HF Integrale was born. The main features of this model were a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with 185 hp at first (up to 220 hp later on) and a permanent, well-balanced all-wheel-drive system (via Euro Classics).
The Delta HF Integrale is a crucial hot hatch because it was the first one with an AWD system. It marked the beginning of the transition from front-wheel drive, simple and cheap hot hatches to the high-tech, all-wheel drive performance monsters we have today. The combination of a powerful engine, sharp handling, excellent traction, and low weight was intoxicating for magazine testers of the day. The Delta HF Integrale received nothing but praise as a result. Over the years, the Delta HF Integrale proved to be a very successful concept, not only on rally stages all over the world but also amongst hot hatch fans. Production stopped in 1994 after almost 40,000 examples were made. Some of them were Martini Edition cars painted in characteristic colors.