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Lancia’s greatest rallying hits
Ahead of Rally d’Italia Sardegna, we look at the Italian marque’s iconic back catalogue.
At the 1991 Lombard RAC Rally in Great Britain, a factory Lancia turned a wheel for the final time in the World Rally Championship, ending the squad’s 19-year stint at the top of the sport. In that time, the Italian team achieved records that still stand to this day, while also creating iconic, instantly recognisable cars for each era of rallying that they were involved with.
With Rally d’Italia Sardegna kicking off this week, strap yourself in for an Italian nostalgia trip as Redbull.com takes a look at Lancia’s greatest rally cars.
FulviaWRC wins: 0
The slinky Fulvia was a beaut
© Lancia
Although never a winner in the post-1973 World Rally Championship era, the Fulvia was an icon of late 60s/early 70s rallying which won Lancia the International Championship for Manufacturers – a forerunner to the WRC – in 1972. The pretty little coupe was powered by a V4 engine which, in its 1.6-litre guise, sent around 130bhp to the front wheels.
StratosWRC wins: 18
Beauty and speed in perfect harmony in the Stratos
© Lancia
Has a rally car ever looked prettier than the Stratos? Or sounded sweeter? Powered by the V6 from a Ferrari Dino, Lancia’s doorstop-on-wheels was a devastating match-up of beauty and speed, which carried the Italian marque to three consecutive Constructors’ titles from 1974 to 1976. It may look wild, but rest assured: Stig Blomqvist famously reckoned the Stratos was “a pussycat”.
037WRC wins: 6
Toivonen's first Lancia was the beautiful 037
© Lancia
Arguably the best-looking car of the WRC’s Group B era, if not the most successful, the rear-wheel drive 037 managed to claim one Constructors’ title for Lancia in 1983 in the hands of two legends of the sport, Walter Röhrl and Markku Alén, before relenting under the pressure of four-wheel drive competition from both Peugeot, with their 205 T16, and Audi, with their uprated Sport Quattro. The 037 was powered by a supercharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine that put out around 350bhp in its final incarnation. But, more importantly for rally fans, it was also the first Lancia to sport the iconic Martini livery.
Delta S4WRC wins: 5
Group B Delta S4 was a 550bhp beast
© Lancia
Rallying’s greatest villain, the Delta S4 was a brute of a car that has infamously become known as the machine that ended Group B rallying, when the S4 driven by Henri Toivonen, pushing hard at the 1986 Tour de Corse despite suffering from ‘flu, slipped off the road and burst into flames, killing Toivonen and co-driver Sergio Cresto. The Delta S4 was, however, an extremely sophisticated piece of kit, combining turbocharging and supercharging to extract around 550bhp from its mid-mounted four-cylinder engine, and making one of rallying’s most terrifying engine noises while it was at it.
Delta Integrale and HF 4WDWRC wins: 46
The Delta remains the WRC's most successful car
© Lancia
Officially rallying’s most successful car ever, the Delta made hay in 1987 when Group B was banned and the tamer Group A was brought in, optimising its four-wheel drive system and 2.0-litre turbo-charged engine to outclass rivals like Mazda’s 323 and Ford’s Sierra. The Delta claimed six consecutive Constructors’ titles from 1987 onwards in the hands of drivers like Juha Kunkkunen, Markku Alén and Miki Biasion. Despite the Lancia factory team pulling out of the sport at the end of the 1991 season, a private Martini Racing Delta would claim a tenth Constructors’ title for a Lancia in 1992, making the Italian team’s cars the most successful in WRC history.
