Lancia is pinning its comeback hopes on a series of models that includes the third generation Delta, a stretched hatch that sadly is galaxies apart from its namesake, the fast and focused Delta Integrale that lit the fires of legend from 1987 to 1991.

Sad because for many enthusiasts the four-wheel drive Delta was the first real ‘hot hatch’, the car that started the craze for wickedly fast five-door compacts – even displacing the original Cooper S and VW GTi for that honour.

The rally-ready Delta evolved through five distinct generations, eventually totalling some 45 000 units. Each version was more powerful and focussed than the last, so that the competition machines they formed the basis of would remain competitive. In its brief lifespan, the Delta spawned a bewildering array of specials, the most desirable of which is arguably the white Martini VI: a car which celebrates six consecutive – and still unmatched – WRC Manufacturers’ crowns.

That car marked the beginning of the end for the Lancia Delta as many had come to know and love it, and the process of replacing it as a production car was well underway by mid-1992. The Delta MkII would be based on the Fiat Tipo and with no Integrale version planned, it was a case of going from hero to zero in one fell swoop. The Italian rally Tifosi (and many around the world) suddenly had very little to cheer about.

The second Delta went out of production in 1999, not that anyone seemed to notice, and it looks like Delta #3 is going to be just as forgettable, despite reviving the most famous name in rallying. The Fiat Bravo-based third generation car was unveiled at Geneva earlier this year (see page xx) and indications are that a four-wheel-drive version is unlikely.

So nostalgia seems to be all that fans have really, but thankfully there’s no shortage of that. The Delta was instrumental in making the Lancia brand the most successful manufacturer in world rallying, and today, 15 years since the three-sided logo was last seen on a WRC car throwing dirt off all four wheels as it blasted down narrow tree-lined tracks, no one has matched the brand’s 11 titles.

The demise of the scary-fast Group B rally cars led to Group A – a production-based formula of which at least 5000 (rather than the 200 for Group B) road versions had to be built. As it turned out Lancia was well placed for this sudden change and already had the front-drive HF Turbo. All they needed to do was run drive to the back axle and grow the engine to 2.0 litres. Much of the 4x4 hardware used came from the Prisma sedan and the HF4WD born of this marriage retained the transverse engine layout, with the five-speed box sending drive to a centre differential/viscous coupling with 56 percent of the torque deployed to the front wheels. A Torsen (torque sensing) rear differential was fitted, while the front diff was conventional.

Competition and commercial success was immediate and in Juha Kankkunen was the 1987 Drivers’ champ, with Lancia winning the Manufacturers’ title. The homologation requirement was comfortably met, with almost 5 300 cars built and rapidly sold.