Lancia Delta Integrale Evo II
TIPPED BY: MARTIN CHISHOLM
Martin’s instruction for which Integrale variant to go for includes rarer colour schemes from limited editions. What’s the thinking there? ‘When they were new, Lancia was having trouble selling them, so came out with various limited editions. Now, you might be able to say a car is one of only a few in a particular colour, so there’s a claim on rarity, but we’re also experiencing a change in what people want – they’re after something different. I used to have a brown Ferrari 365BB and I couldn’t sell it. Nowadays it would go in a flash, because it’s brown. There is a higher demand than ever before, not just for original colours but for unusual original colours.’
There’s also a generational shift – something repeated over several choices in this year’s Hot 30. ‘They’ve reached the point of being mainstream collectors’ cars and are highly regarded,’ says Martin. ‘Those people who could only afford a 205GTI when the Integrale was new are now earning money and are fulfilling a wish.’
The Delta Integrale performed the same homologation role as the two road-going Group B cars that feature in our higher price brackets this year, but thanks to Group A rules it was more numerous and less extreme than its predecessors. All were left-hand drive.
By the Evo 2 of 1993, output had risen to 212bhp and the cars drew immense respect for performance, handling and fourwheel drive grip. Special editions in both Evo and Evo II versions numbered around a dozen; the more numerous ones to look out for include the Martini 5 and Martini 6, Verde York, Giallo Ginestra and Blu Lagos, plus Dealers Collection and Edizione Finale in special shades of darker red.
‘Everything has become so visual,’ says Martin. ‘Instagram and everything we’re doing online is based on images, and we want to stand out from the crowd. You get more clicks on a blue, yellow or
green car than on a more common red or white one.’
‘You get more clicks on a blue, yellow or green car than a red or white example’