With Stellantis currently scrambling for ideas to shine some light on some of its more niche brands, like Maserati, Alfa Romeo, and Lancia, we could be witnessing the rebirth of some iconic nameplates, such as the now legendary Lancia Delta HF Integrale.
For those unaware, the Integrale was a Group A rally stage-conquering monster at the turn of the 1990s. During its run, it scored 46 World Rally Championship wins and won the constructors’ championship six times in a row. Today, low-production, road-legal homologation specials have become high-value items in the classic car world. And with automotive nostalgia always being highly lucrative for automakers, especially stuff from the 1990s, it comes as no surprise to see Lancia wanting to revive the nameplate.
Lancia Says HF Will Return For Upcoming Performance Models
The news of the Delta Integrale making a comeback comes to us from The Drive, who apparently caught quotes from the automaker in a recent press release confirming the car’s return. But upon further inspection of the press release itself, there’s absolutely no sign of an upcoming Delta.
The release rather focuses on the HF badge (which stands for High Fidelity), making a return to only performance models at Lancia, like the Ypsilon HF Racing. From the press release: “the new HF Racing is part of a broader strategy that not only marks Lancia’s return to motorsport but also reintroduces the iconic HF logo on the brand’s next-generation high-performance versions”. Translation: more cool high-performance HF models are coming to Lancia. Cool!
But none of this yet confirms the return of the iconic Delta. Yes, Lancia did flirt with the idea of bringing it back a few years ago, and there has been a lot of online speculation about its return. But nothing has been officially confirmed by the automaker. At least not yet. Other reliable sources have reported on the same press release, but a simple CTRL+F command revealed no signs of either the Delta or Integrale names. Could Stellantis have removed this information to avoid the news from going viral? Perhaps. But the mention of upcoming performance HF models alone is enough to get us all riled up.
The Upcoming Delta Integrale Will Most Likely Be Electric
Like the Ypsilon HF with which it will undoubtedly share a platform, technology and drivetrain, the rumored Delta Integrale will be an electric vehicle (EV). At least, that’s what sources familiar with the matter have been reporting. There’s also speculation that it could arrive as early as next year as a 2026 model year car. In reality, we’re talking about Stellantis’ e-CMP EV architecture, which also underpins vehicles currently sold in Europe, such as the Peugeot e-208 GTi or the Abarth 600e. We could therefore expect similar technical specifications for the Delta.
But before we see an actual running model in the flesh, Lancia will first release an HF Integrale version of its soon-to-be-released Gamma electric crossover. It’s the traditional strategy, isn’t it? The one where, before reintroducing an iconic nameplate, an automaker must first ensure profitability through a mass-selling utility vehicle. The Gamma will be that vehicle, or so Lancia hopes.
Nevertheless, the prospect of a new Delta HF Integrale, even in the electric age, is highly exciting and gets our pulse running. We’ll keep following the car’s development closely, and we’ll make sure to report back here once we know more.
Read the full article here
