LANCIA DELTA INTEGRALE
There’s a lot that can be done to improve a car with an already near-legendary status among hot hatch fans – find the right example that’s ripe for upgrades and the sky really is the limit
No car is immune from the ravages of time. When the Lancia Delta Integrale was launched in 1987, the idea of upgrades seemed laughable. Here was a car that was devastatingly fast thanks to its turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder twin-cam engine, and that performance was usable all-year round thanks to the four-wheel drive system. Sure, it was possible to go further, but this hardly seemed necessary.
Three decades on, expectations have changed, and now that the Integrale is a fully-fledged classic, there is plenty that you can do to improve one. Integrale values have climbed, so you don’t want to be messing with a minter, but there are still lots of average cars around that are fair game for turning into a seriously quick track day special or just a fast road car – but not both, as some people try to do. Focus on one or the other; the track day special will be stripped out for maximum lightness, but any road car needs to remain civilised.
Whereas the first Integrales featured a 185bhp eight-valve engine, a 16-valve head was introduced in 1989, along with lowered suspension and optional anti-lock brakes. These later cars deliver 200bhp while the Integrale Evo 1 that came in 1991 packs 210bhp, along with stronger brakes. The final Integrale edition was the Evo 2 of 1993, which had bigger wheels and a smaller turbo to reduce lag, with power now up to 215bhp.
The same two-litre twin-cam four-cylinder engine was used throughout, always in turbocharged form although the spec of the turbocharger changed over time. The key difference between early and late cars is the change from an eightvalve head to a 16-valve item – and they’re not interchangeable.
The most you can expect to squeeze from an Integrale engine without spending a fortune is 280bhp, but if you want (and can afford) to make more drastic changes, you can get as much as 330bhp from the 2.0-litre unit. However, to get this level of power you’ll have to fit a Group N cylinder head gasket, uprated bolts, a hybrid turbo, a tubular manifold and race-spec pistons.
The thing is, it’s not the engine that’s in danger of going bang if you increase the power significantly
– it’s the transmission. There’s not much that you can do to strengthen the gearbox, although you can install a race clutch to cope with the extra grunt. But while an upgraded clutch will take the power and torque of an upgraded the engine, the gearbox won’t, which is why your best bet is to aim for no more than 280bhp. This will produce a car that’s rapid, tractable, reliable and enormous fun to drive.