The Lancia Delta S4 has been invading my brain for a few days now, and I just can’t seem to shake it off. If you aren’t familiar with it, I’m not that surprised because it was part of Group B Rally Racing back in 1985 and 1986. Then it sort of fell off the planet. Between 1982 and 1986, Group B rally racing was “open minded” when it came to the race cars, so some of them were horrifyingly, stupid, silly fast. In fact, they were so dangerous that Group B was ended by the FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile) at the end of 1986. Many people blame the rally spectators for this FIA decision because sometimes they stood in front of oncoming race cars, and got hit…..duh… I’m not here to place blame though, I just want to share the greatness that is the S4.
The Lancia Delta S4 was loosely based on the Lancia Delta. In reality, they shared almost nothing, except for the general shape of the body. The Delta S4’s body was built from carbon fiber, it had long arm race suspension, all wheel drive, and of course a twin charged mid mounted engine. Officially it made 480 horsepower, but off the record, it was rumored to be closer to 600. That is ludicrous power from a little 1759cc engine (That translates to about a 1.8 Liter or 107 cubic inch), not too shabby. Read More
