Lancia Integrale - The Full Story tells you all you need to know about the world's most successful rally car; a car that | dG1fODVfVHFoX1hWeUU
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00:00The International Motorsports Federation decreed that Group B would be abandoned from 1987.
00:08World Championship rallying would be run to Group A rules for truly production-based cars.
00:14But tragedies or no tragedies, the Delta S4 was an incredible car that pushed the Group
00:20B regulations to their already elastic limits.
00:23It's remembered with awe even by its drivers.
00:48The Delta S4 was, arguably, the ultimate expression of a Group B car.
00:53Its drivers would find a switch to Group A for 1987 a real culture shock.
00:59Group A approval required 400 cars to be built to the actual rally car specification, and
01:05modifications were much more restricted than had been the case with Group B.
01:09It was almost a true production class of competition, so if 4WD was to be employed, then a 4WD version
01:17had to be offered to the general public.
01:19Lancia, therefore, produced the 4WD Delta HF.
01:23It would be the company's Group A challenger for World Rally Honours in 1987.
01:27To all intents and purposes, the HF was the first Integrale, although it was a year later
01:33before that name was actually used.
01:35Delta is good car.
01:37I win it quite a lot, but I never, you know, it's not my favourite car.
01:41I have favourite car in S4 and 037 in Lancia.
01:45That's a big step.
01:46You have 600 horsepower, our latest engine about 550-600 horsepower, and after 10 days
01:53and we will move in Finland, in Lapland, testing, you know, Group A, and that time you have
01:59something 250, and I feeling I have no engine.
02:03I see all the time what I doing here.
02:07Two weeks ago I have in 600, and 950 kilo now I have in 250-270 horsepower, and maybe
02:13our weight is something 1,200 kilo.
02:17That's a liking day and night.
02:20The Delta HF made its debut in the 1987 Monte Carlo Rally, the first event of the year.
02:26The reigning world champion, Finland's Juha Kankanen, had moved from Peugeot to lead
02:30the Lancia team.
02:31He was joined by Italian Mickey Biesion and Frenchman Bruno Saby, and the new car was
02:37going so well, the Lancia trio traded places in the front of the early stages.
02:43Then Saby fell back with gearbox problems, and this left Kankanen leading at the mid-event
02:48stage, with Biesion close behind.
02:50Despite Saby's problems, the HF Deltas were running so strongly in their debut event that
02:56rival teams queried their legality.
02:59In fact, these protests were investigated after the event, but were quickly dismissed,
03:04as the Lancias were found to be perfectly within the Group A rules.
03:08Not only were they legal, but they were dominant enough to afford their drivers the luxury
03:13of the occasional mistake.