Lancia Delta Integrale Buying Guide

Lancia Delta Integrale Buying Guide: Evo1 vs. Evo2, and What to Check Before You Buy

The Lancia Delta Integrale doesn't need much of an introduction to anyone who has watched WRC footage from the late 1980s: six consecutive manufacturers' titles and 46 world rally wins, all riding on a boxy Italian hatchback that looked more at home doing school runs than winning Monte Carlo. What trips buyers up isn't the Integrale's reputation — it's figuring out exactly which Integrale they're looking at, and what it should actually cost.

How Lancia got to six straight titles

The Integrale didn't appear fully formed. It grew out of the Delta HF 4WD, Lancia's first answer to the new Group A rulebook, which itself drew on the mid-engine Delta S4's abandoned Group B know-how. Through the 8V, then the 16V, and finally the Evoluzione cars, Lancia's works drivers — a roster that included Juha Kankkunen and Miki Biasion among others — turned the Delta into the most successful rally car of its era. By the time the Evo1 arrived for 1991, the formula was fully sorted; the Evo2 that followed in 1993 was less about finding new speed and more about refining what already worked.

Evo1 vs. Evo2, by the numbers

In short: the Evo1 is the more visually dramatic leap over the standard 16V, with the wide-body look most people picture when they hear "Integrale." The Evo2 has the same look but is the more refined, more emissions-compliant, and rarer of the two — a smaller production run with a fully sorted engine management system.

What it's actually like to drive

Period road testers and current owners describe the same trade-offs: meaningful turbo lag below about 3,000 rpm followed by a hard, linear shove to redline, a notchy but mechanical-feeling five-speed gearbox, and steering that telegraphs exactly how much grip the permanent four-wheel-drive system has in reserve — which, on a dry road, is a lot. Visibility is excellent by modern standards (thank the boxy '80s greenhouse), and the driving position is more upright hatchback than sports car. None of that is a complaint; it's part of why the Integrale still feels like a rally car with license plates rather than a road car that happened to go rallying.

How it compares to its rivals

The Integrale's closest period rivals were the Ford Sierra/Escort Cosworth and, a generation earlier, the Audi Quattro that helped inspire the whole all-wheel-drive rally movement. Where the Audi feels like the pioneer and the Cosworth feels like the brawnier, more RWD-flavored British answer, the Integrale is generally regarded as the most complete and best-resolved of the three — which is a large part of why it commands the strongest values today. Its spiritual successors, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and Subaru Impreza WRX STI, wouldn't exist in the form they took without the trail the Integrale blazed.

What to check before you buy

Rust is the biggest risk on any 30-plus-year-old Italian hatchback — inspect the rear wheel arches, sills, and floor pans closely, and ask for documentation of any repair work. Turbo and cambelt service history matters just as much as mileage; these are stressed, boosted engines and a car with gaps in its maintenance record is a bigger gamble than one with more miles and full paperwork.

One thing worth knowing before you shop: because the Evo look is so desirable, some cars on the market are standard 16V Integrales fitted with Evo body kits rather than genuine factory Evo1 or Evo2 cars. Verifying chassis numbers against factory production records is worth the effort before any purchase — and worth asking about proactively, since a reputable seller will already have this documentation ready.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Delta Integrale legal to import and drive in the US? Yes — any Integrale is now well past the 25-year federal exemption, so title and registration follow the same path as any other classic import. Registration in California is also possible, but at a financial cost – we have helped many customers register their Integrale in California.

Which is rarer, the Evo1 or the Evo2? The Evo2, with 4,223 built against the Evo1's 5,619.

Is an Evo1 or Evo2 the "better" buy? It depends what you're optimizing for — the Evo1's wider, more dramatic body versus the Evo2's rarer, more refined engine management. Both are genuinely excellent; neither is a wrong answer.

Currently available at EuroClassix

EuroClassix has all many at once, as it is a focus for us as we approach 100 Integrales imported. You can see our current inventory here: https://www.euroclassixcars.com/collections/for-sale.