Sometimes one finds oneself in the most desireable of situations, enjoying an experiance that will remain in the memory for a very long time. For me, that happened yesterday when at one point in time I happened to be behind the wheel of Jeremy Browne's 1990 Lancia Delta Integrale 16V. To make things even sweeter, I was piloting it down my favourite stretch of twisty road - the bit of blacktop that runs between Callington and Nairne. The precise chain of events leading up to that point started when I received a call asking if I would like to ride along on the Lancia register run one Saturday morning in the Integrale. I made a quick call to work and cancelled my shift, and told Howie I would love to come along. Jeremy would be driving his Lancia Fulvia 1.6 HF Rally car on the cruise, with Howie and I closely on his heels in the Integrale.The first thing that got me was the sheer grip of the Integrale - its unreal. Riding as a passenger, we would enter corners quickly enough that I never thought we would get around, yet the car just hunkered down and make quick work of whatever we could throw at it. Not bad for a 19 year old car! For the first part of the run we were chasing Jeremy in the Fulvia up Montacute road . Now theres a mental image - riding in an Integrale chasing a hot rally prepared Fulvia up a twisty mountain pass!
Around 10km away from our morning tea stop at Mt Pleasant, Jeremy pulled over so that Howie could have a steer of the Fulvia. He then offered me the drive of the Delta, and it was amazing. I didnt push it hard at all, as it wasnt my car and having one of Australias best and most well known rally drivers sitting next to me was a little intimidating. I thought all my lucky stars had come at once, however after the drive Jeremy mentioned that I could drive it home if I liked. Which is how I found myself with the chance to drive it from Mannum to Mount Barker, including said favourite stretch of twisty road.
For those who are unaware, the Delta Integrale 16V is the road homologation version of the cars that Lancia rallied so succesfully during the late 80's and early 90's. The Integrale is an absolute cult car, and absolutely dominated the World Rally Championship, as had the Fulvia, Stratos and 037 before it. The road versions represent the pinacle of rallying technology at that point in time, and for true rally nuts there is no better car. The Lancia Delta is a common everyday commuter in Europe, much like the Toyota Corolla now and in standard trim is extremely dull. Integrales are rare in Europe, however they were never sold in Australia making them extremely rare here, its probably the only one in Adelaide. Jeremys car was privatly imported from Europe and then converted to RHD. The Integrale versions came with a 2.0 Intercooled turbo engine and Torsen 4wd, along with a host of other technological innovations. Being a 1990 model, Jeremys Integrale is a HF16v model, meaning it comes with the later 16 valve engine, revised ECU and better 4wd system, not to mention the pumped body with big flares that earlier Integrales didnt have. Its good for 200hp and a 0-100 time of 5.7secs in dead stock trim. Thats pretty good for 1990, and its still faster than most WRX's right up to now, including a lot of the STI's.
Its just simply awesome to drive. The grip is astounding, the shove in the back is addictive. In a straight line its not anywhere near as fast as the Lancer Evo 6.5 Makinen I drove, but for the average driver on the public road I think its faster. Its power is accesible and useable - the car doesnt scare you. It works with you, and as a tool for covering ground quickly its bloody marvelous. The pedals are perfectly placed for left foot braking, and the power steering is just sublime. It takes a little for it to build boost, but its very good for an 80's turbo car (I drove a Mitsubishi Galant VR4 once and the lag on that was just a joke) and once it comes on song at around 3000rpm it just keeps pulling right till the 7000rpm redline, no matter what the speed or gear. We came up behind a truck once doing 110kmh in fifth, I simply dropped it back to fourth and flattened it and it accelerated to 170 like nothing else Ive driven. Driving it on that twisty road was like making love to some kind of divine being - it was that good. It was very hard to give the keys back!
It was interesting to note peoples reaction to the car. The Integrale really is the ultimate sleeper - it blends in with everything else and then blows their doors off! For most people (police included) it just flew under the radar, however it made a big impression on people who knew what it was. I remember passing a stopped Alfa 156 and the driver literally had his head out the window watching us go by. Its almost the perfect car - enough street cred for the jap scene but its not rice, its a fine piece of Italian artwork that leaves you speechless!
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