Vehicle Description
Chassis No. ZLA831AB000500851
Even after claiming the 1983 World Rally Championship title with
the 037-the last rear-wheel drive car to do so-Lancia was faced
with the reality that four-wheel drive was the way of the future in
rallying. Lancia's response to its German rival arrived in the form
of the S4 Group B racer, its fearsome pace taking multiple
victories in 1985 and 1986 before proving too fast for the narrow
country roads of Corsica, resulting in a tragic end to the series
as fans of Group B know all too well.
Following the swift end of the category, Lancia homologated the
Delta HF 4WD for Group A, launching it during the 1987 WRC season
where it claimed victory in its debut year. The emergence of the HF
Integrale 8V in 1988 ensured Lancia's continued dominance, securing
victories in 10 out of 11 World Rally Championship rounds that
year. By 1989, the Delta HF Integrale 16v model had arrived,
continuing the winning legacy with further Manufacturers'
Championship titles in both 1990 and 1991. With Toyota mounting a
serious challenge, the final "Evoluzione" upgrade arrived in 1992
to deliver the Delta's final Manufacturers' title. Taken together,
the Lancia Delta's six consecutive Manufacturers' titles, four
Drivers' titles, and victories in 46 World Rally Championship
rallies make it the single most successful model in the history of
the World Rally Championship.
The exceptional Lancia Delta HF 16v Group A presented here, chassis
number 500851, played a direct role in Lancia's WRC legacy as a
full Martini Lancia Works team entry during the 1990 World Rally
Championship season. It carried the iconic livery of the Martini
Lancia team with race number 1 and was campaigned by two-time World
Rally Champion Massimo "Miki" Biasion in Round 10 of the 1990 WRC,
the 32nd Rallye Sanremo.
Chassis 500851 was completed by the factory in September of 1990
during the height of Lancia's unprecedented dominance in world
rallying, receiving its Certificate of Origin on the 15th of that
month. Upon completion, it was first registered to FIAT Auto S.p.A.
of Turin under the plate "TO 56249P," a distinction coveted by
Italian cognoscenti for its "TO" Torino designation. Significantly,
it was also one of the very few Delta HF 16vs to carry its
registration on the rear bumper rather than on the trunk lid-a
change introduced after earlier red-liveried Martini cars had
obscured the logos and drawn sponsor complaints. As a result, this
car debuted the full Martini branding across the trunk lid to
maximize visibility for the team's principal backer.
Underneath its striking Martini stripes lay the potent 2.0-liter
16-valve turbocharged engine bearing serial number 1025, tuned to
deliver approximately 265 horsepower; significantly, it has
remained in its original factory 16-valve configuration without any
modifications to its cylinder head or valvetrain throughout its
life. Chassis 500851 was delivered to the Works Martini Lancia team
for the 32nd Rallye Sanremo, held 14-18 October, where it carried
race number 1. Miki Biasion, alongside co-driver Tiziano Siviero,
had already secured victories earlier in the season and used this
very chassis to capture four stage wins in the Italian
mixed-surface rally. Their campaign was ultimately halted on
special stage 27 when a minor collision with debris forced
retirement.
In July 1991, the car passed to Leader Cars SRL of Turin, and was
subsequently issued a second Passaporto Tecnico on 21 September.
That same weekend, it competed in the 14th Rally 111 Minuti with
Pierfranco "Franco" Uzzeni at the wheel, finishing a respectable
6th overall. It then appeared at the Rally Autodromo di Monza that
November, driven by future Scuderia Ferrari Formula One driver
Nicola Larini. There it won three individual stages, won its class,
and secured 2nd place overall in an impressive display around the
historic circuit.
Throughout 1992 and into mid-1993, the Delta continued to contest
the Italian national rally scene, triumphing at the Rally Citt� di
Canelli in May 1992 under Uzzeni, and earning further podiums in
events such as the Rally Valle Ossolane (2nd overall) and the Rally
Valli Bresciane (3rd in class). It was subsequently sold in
December 1995 to Serratosa Caturla Ignacio in Valencia, Spain,
where it carried Spanish registration "V-4722-FF." The Lancia then
returned to Italy under the stewardship of the Bresolin
collection-a sizeable collection of important rally cars including
a Lancia Rally 037 and other Deltas.
Upon its repatriation, chassis 500851 was restored to its original
1990 Rallye Sanremo specification and refinished in its iconic
Martini colors. It was presented to Abarth Classiche and, on 1
August 2017, received its Certificato Componenti Meccanici. In
2018, the car passed to Broad Arrow Consultant Daniele Turrisi, who
used the Lancia in local events in Sardinia before parting ways
with it in 2020.
Today, this Delta HF 16v Group A remains a quintessential example
of Lancia's most dominant era. Its Martini-clad bodywork embodies
the spirit of the Martini Lancia team's 1990 World
Championship-winning campaign, while its uninterrupted chain of
ownership and high-quality restoration make it a concours-ready
piece of rallying history. Owning chassis 500851 offers the
opportunity to campaign this factory-backed Delta in vintage
editions of historic rallies the world over, following in the tire
tracks of its Works Martini predecessors.
