Lancia Integrale HF from 1988. Rally version. 265 HP
The Lancia Delta is a small family car produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Lancia in three generations. The first generation (1979-1994) debuted at the 1979 Frankfurt Motor Show, the second generation (1993-1999) debuted at the 1993 Geneva Motor Show, and the third generation (2008-2014) debuted at 2008 Geneva Motor Show.
The first generation Delta dominated the World Rally Championship during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The homologation requirements of Group A regulations meant marketing road-going versions of these competition cars — the Lancia Delta HF 4WD and HF Integrale. A total of 44,296 Integrales were produced.
The first true performance-oriented Delta was the Delta HF, which was introduced in July 1983 and went on sale in September after a first appearance at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
The HF acronym—last used on the Stratos—stands for “high fidelity”, and had been applied to sports and racing variants of Lancia cars since 1966.
It is front-wheel drive and powered by a turbocharged version of the 1.6-litre engine from the Delta GT; the system consists of a Garrett TBO-225 turbocharger with wastegate valve, an air-to-air heat exchanger, a blow-through twin-choke Weber carburetor and Marelli Microplex ignition with pre-ignition control.
To withstand the additional stress deriving from turbocharging, upgrades were made to the oil system, with increased capacity and an oil cooler, and to the cylinder heads with sodium-filled valves.
The gearbox is a ZF five-speed unit. Dampers, springs and steering were retuned, and the tyres are wide 175/65 Michelin TRX on R 340 alloy wheels.
The exterior of the HF is relatively understated: changes were limited to silver “HF” badging on the grille, a deeper chin spoiler, black trim as on the GT, black roof drip rail mouldings, black side skirts with small silver “turbo” badges in front of the rear wheels, the 1982 roof spoiler painted in black, air intake cowls on the bonnet grilles, bronze-tinted athermic glass and eight-spoke alloy wheels. The cabin features a leather-covered steering wheel and supplementary digital instrumentation with bar indicators; the upholstery material is the usual beige Zegna fabric, and Recaro sport seats covered in the same cloth were optional. About ten-thousand Delta HFs were made, in a two-year production period.
