Lancia Delta Integrale Evo 3: the latest heroine is sports cars

"Do you think it's her?".

I seek solace, but photographer Dean Smith is just as impressed as I am. “Um maybe”he answers.

We are located in Limburg, northwest of Frankfurt, where we arrived in our rented Mégane Scenic in our endless quest for the Holy Grail. But in some cases it is worth it, for example, when the Grail is currently the only existing prototype. Lancia Delta Integral Evo 3.

Delta Integrale Evo 3: the last breath of myth

Tell me I'm glad to see it live and go there Delta Integral it's not much, and yet when I finally face her, I don't have fibrillation as I expected.

"auto it is so important that it is in a proper, clean and shining place, surrounded by cars of GTO caliber, Sport Quattro and RSR. So why are we meeting in front of an old garage with a dilapidated Citroën DS Safari inside and an old green S-Class? Only one Evo 3 is the world really here? I do not believe in that…

And yet it is exactly so.

Prototype "violetNamed after his livery, it is covered with a layer of dust, nestled in a corner like a little lamb that the mother has disowned. Perhaps it is correct that it appears like this: Delta Integrale Evo 3 born out of despair at the end of life Integral, the project is fully developed Maggiora, creator of Evo 2, but rejected A spear.

The house has officially left WRC after the 1991 season (although he won another constructors title in 1992 with the Jolly Club and Martini Racing) and so, in 1994, when Magiora presented the car in Turin, on A spear it must have seemed like a closed chapter in his story.

Bruno Maggiore obviously did not think so. He created it concept to show how fast and agile you can be Integralhoping to rekindle Lancia's sales and commitment to its iconic XNUMXWD vehicle. Unfortunately, this did not happen, but today we can at least get a taste of what could have been.

Driving the Delta

After waking up Delta Integrale Evo 3 using the charger, we finally take it out into fresh air.

It's a gray morning with no shade of sunshine to bring this Lamborghini livery to life, but Integral it still looks magical and perfect. With all the dirt and dust she suffered in the garage, she certainly isn't perfect or ready for the Pebble Beach parade, but the closer you get, the more amazing it gets.

THE interior they are more terrible than ever Integral but judging by rear seats beige without a haircut and made of Alcantara on the shoulders of the driver's seat with very little signs of wear, it looks like new.

Bruno Maggiora used it regularly for a while, but all 10.000 km he has done healed with gloves. I can't help but look into trunk to the new Michelin spare tire with a small Bibendum lettering engraved on the shoulder. I have never driven a real, unrepaired classic car and it seems more than fair to me to enjoy every detail.

Evo 3: the best Delta Integrale ever

It doesn't differ much from the Evo 2. In 1994, the only difference was that circles 17-inch MiM TechnoMagnesium, which are now gone. But under the skin, this car is exactly what Magiora wanted it to be. Evo 3.

The four-cylinder engine of 1.995 cc. Delta Integral has undergone minimal changes, but thanks to the new system injectionto one block IAW P8 more advanced and strengthened turbine Garrett T3 at pressures over 1 bar power it increased from 215 to 237 hp. at 6.000 rpm, with a torque of 320 Nm in the range from 2.500 to 6.000 rpm.

Increase performance minimal, but together with limited slip differential GKN in front, on the new Clutch for center differential, all Speed with a short travel and modified springs and dampers, the overall effect is markedly different from the Evo 2.

The owner assures us Werner Blatteland Nick Johnson from Nick Johnson Motor Companywho sells it on behalf of Werner for € 100.000. Fortunately, Blattel has no problem letting us take his precious unique copy and even if we are not going to grind these Pirelli P700 ZR15 205/50 obviously very hard, and who knows how old, he knows a good road around where we can release Evo 3 at will and maybe try a little like this the prototype will raise the stakes significantly.

Design and emotion

Italian heroine pull together will also be twenty years old and no longer seems so extreme, but this Bonnet full of vents, those wheel arch squared and behold spoiler the 45 degree angle on the roof evokes deep memories.

The Integrale Evo 3ti lines still make you feel butterflies in your stomach. It is the F40 made by humans: with a clean and practical functionality that manifests itself in every line and every facet. The thin and flat doors betray the Integrale's humble origins and appear to have been forcibly pushed into the cabin, 15cm farther than the wheel arches. This is a feature that immediately reminds you that the Evo 3 line dates back to 1979 and accordingly lowers the expectations for the passenger compartment ...

Wow! This is dashboard It appears to have been made out of a shoebox covered in shiny black plastic and glued to the top of the same shiny black plastic dashboard.

On the other hand, the yellow dial graphics are fantastic. IN speedometer, on the left, starts at 0 - at 9 o'clock and reaches 240 km / h at 6 o'clock. tachometer it goes from 0 to 3 o'clock - up to a large 9, painted red and placed at the 12 o'clock position. In the middle of the two dials, where the eye naturally falls, is the turbo indicator, which rises to 1,2 bar.

Attached to the horizontal shoe box is a vertical box that runs through the transmission tunnel and is covered with carbon... Horatio Pagani would have trembled at that finish, but we're talking about 1994 and Maggiora probably had a small budget to make it happen. Evo 3.

But I love it: I imagine a proud worker who carefully glues it together and then takes a step back to admire this masterpiece in carbon.

I points in velvet beige are fantastic to the touch: they are soft, warm and hold tight. IN steering wheel Momo Corse from a thick crown, it is ideal, even if slightly tilted.

Looking at it, the Evo 3 looks eighteen and even when you turn on the four-cylinder engine and press the accelerator, initially sluggish and viscous, waiting for the turbo to wake up at 10.000 rpm, it looks like a vintage car.

I Posts the subtle ones intensify that sensation, but once you put your hand on the tight mechanical short-stroke gearbox and the annoying paddle clutch, you stop thinking it's a XNUMX-year-old car and start interfering.

Integral services

One thing's for sure: the Evo 3 is different. It's always alone Lancia Delta Integrale and feels, but lighter and more responsive. The turbocharger runs smoothly and quickly, reaching 6.500 RPM instantly.

Slight torque response to steeringbut even with these museum tires, there is enough traction.

Most impressive is the sensitivity to steering and how is that A spear strap and get out of the curves. In my opinion Integral this car has always been difficult to drive properly because you tend to drive it understeer and there is a long delay before the XNUMXWD kicks in to restore balance.

But Evo 3 it resists understeer well, and as the turbo picks up speed, you can hear the torque transfer to the rear. It has the same front-to-rear torque split equal to 47/53 percent of the Evo 2, but gives the distinct impression that more power is being transferred to the rear.

Rear differential Delta Integral improved, it allows you to track irregularities in the road and engrave turns like a scalpel, while the engine is precise and reactive from 3.500 to 6.000 rpm. In terms of sheer speed, the Evo 3 is faster than sparkling wine. Even if it drove like the Mégane 265 Cup (which it doesn't), it would not be able to match a modern sports compact car. It is more relaxed and smoother on bumps and bumps, and its thrust arrives in waves one after another. She is more straightforward than her ancestor, but, oddly enough, less decisive.

Delivery aisles, curtains that close

Time waits for no one, man or machine, as Magiora discovered in 1994. Perhaps the era of Integrale is over.

In 1993, a new all-wheel-drive heroine appeared in the rally arena, and her street cousin was serving up a sneaky and passionate marmalade soup. It didn't have Italian charm, but the sound of its flat four was as iconic as the Lancia wheel arches and the hum of the five-cylinder Quattro.

Her name was ShowIt was cheap and bright, and the slightly convoluted Integrale could hardly match it. Even the cool 208bhp Impreza Turbo in the UK Spec version hit 100bhp. in just 5 seconds, while the Japanese versions reached first 250 hp and then 280. A year after the presentation of the Evo 3 in Turin, Colin McRae won the WRC with the Impreza, making him a legend.

La Delta Integral could get very old, losing points year after year: A spear he succeeded in closing this chapter with this amazing machine in 1994.

In this way, Prototype Evo 3, built without Lancia, but with full dedication Integral, this is a beautiful swan song.

Maggiora continued to work for Lancia (his K Coupé project), but the Evo 3 prototype remained proudly parked at the end of the production line, with boxes of whole grain components.

Bruno Maggiora could never completely give up on his dream. He can take pride in creating a faster and more addictive Integrale. And even if officially it cannot be called Evolution 3, this car deserves this legendary name with honor.