I bet that within 10 seconds of seeing these 2 cars, you can already hear the Sega Rally theme tune in your head. After all, what is rallying without the Lancia Delta Integrale?

It might surprise you to hear that the Delta was never meant to be a purebred rally car. Instead, it was supposed to target the premium end of the small car sector, sitting below the Beta in Lancia’s model hierarchy. Lancia based the car on the front wheel drive Fiat Ritmo platform but took the car upmarket by having the car styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro and adding features like all-round independent suspension, a stiffened chassis and an interior choc full of premium materials. This hard work paid off with the Delta receiving critical acclaim at its launch in 1979 and even going on to win the 1980 car of the year in Europe.

Rallying came to the Delta after Audi’s formidable Quattro and Peugeot’s lightning-fast 205 T16 gave Lancia’s 037 a bloody nose throughout the Group B era of the early 1980s. Although the 037 was a fantastic car it simply couldn’t keep up with the competition and their four-wheel drive setups. To be more competitive for the 1985 season Lancia comprehensively re-engineered the 037 and launched their championship contender the Delta S4.

The S4 shared but a handful of parts with the Delta HF and instead became its own model. Although they shared roughly the same from end styling the S4 was a ferocious competition car through and through. Mid-engined, four-wheel drive, an engine which was both turbo and supercharged, it is said to have been able to hit 60mph from a standstill in less than 3 seconds, on gravel… It cost five times more than the highest specced Delta and was produced in very small numbers.

As a rally car it secured 5 wins but never had the chance to become the successful machine it deserved to be, instead its ferocity was to be its undoing. The 1986 Tour de Corse saw a horrific crash involving Henri Toivonen and co-driver Sergio Cresto killed after their car left the road and burst into flames, sitting above the fuel tanks they stood no chance and both perished. This was one of many incidents that lead to the downfall of Group B and ultimately the S4,