Lancia Delta HF Integrale

Fraser Martin
17 June 2009

The story of the Lancia marque is a chequered one, in more than just the sense of the winner's flag. As one of the 'Red Stuff' manufacturers, Lancia has been around since 1906 – much longer than Ferrari – and indeed, the Ferraris which won the early Grands Prix were originally Lancia-Ferraris. The company's early days were fraught with overspending on motorsport and the racing cars had to be sold to Ferrari in 1956 in order to keep the company afloat.

Little known facts about the marque include quite a few motor industry firsts. Lancia was the first manufacturer to introduce the monocoque body (back in 1922 with the Lambda), the 5-speed gearbox (1948 in the Ardea), the V6 engine (1950 in the Aurelia) and as early as 1913, was offering for the first time in a motor car a fully-integrated electrical system. However, by the late '60s, the development costs and high standards of manufacture, all at the expense of cost-effective production, left the company in dire financial straits and Lancia accepted a bid from Fiat to take it over in 1969.

Like Fiat and Alfa Romeo, Lancia also produced a range of trucks and military vehicles alongside the quality family and sports cars which made the name famous.

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