Lancia and WRC wins go together like Monica Bellucci and full-figured. Today's NIce Price or Crack Pipe Pipe Delta Interale joins the Stratos, S4 and 037 in desirability and historic interest, but could this one's price be too full figured?
Americans are not typically known as the kind of people who like to deny themselves things, as proof just look at all the lard-asses blobbing around, or my credit card statements. Despite our obsessively compulsive compulsion to obsessively consume, there have been a few tasty morsels of car chow of which we have denied ourselves in the partaking. One of those was the E30 touring as exemplified by yesterday's s50b30-powered '88. There was no reason for BMW not to bring that 3-series estate to the U.S., other that the perception that we just didn't want it. Silly us. That rondel-wearing wagon grabbed up a healthy 65% Nice Price win, and proved that not all of us live in denial.
We've also denied ourselves any form of Lancia for decades now, although part of the blame must be laid at the feet of the Italian maker for making such a compelling argument for our repudiation of their products. Back when we could have all the Lancias we could want, they proved to have the longevity of a prom night orgasm, and eventually, seeking broader temporal dimension, we decided no more.
That's too bad because the Lancias we denied ourselves have proven to be a whole lot more desirable than the ones we accepted. Proof of that is today's contender, a 1992 Delta Integrale, which is presently living in the Detroit area, where apparently its application for a Michigan title was not. . . denied. Rosso corsa red with a black leather interior, this 16v is described by its seller as being in perfect condition. Whether that's perfect for a regular car or for a Lancia, he doesn't say, but we should probably cut the car some slack both for its provenance and living in the Motor City, a place that denies itself foreign cars for a number of reasons, cough*UAW*cough.
The 16v pre-dated the Evo I and II but it still rocks a 200-bhp 2-litre four that's turbo'd and intercooled. The all wheel drive is rear-biased, and if your fast on the shifts of the close-ratio five speed box, its traction will help you get to sixty in five and a half seconds. Top speed's a couple tics under 140, and the four-wheel ABS discs make the stopping as undramatic as the going is dramatic. Those were some serious numbers back in the early nineties and both they and the car hold up well today. This particular one holds only 35K on its odometer, and Martini Racing mats on its floors. Those mats shouldn't be denied, but the question remains, for $16,500, should the whole car still be?
What's your takeaway on that price for this Integrale? Is $16,500 reasonable enough that you feel you should no longer be denied this amazing auto? Or, for asking that much, is it the seller who is in denial?
You decide!
Detroit Craigslist or go here if the ad disappears. H/T to Arm51 for the hook up!
Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.