One to Buy: 25,000km 1995 Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evoluzione 2 Edizione Finale
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During a 20 year period from the early 1970s to the early 1990s, the combined efforts of Fiat and its Lancia subsidiary won championship after championship at rallying’s highest level.
After the Fulvia had delivered 1972’s International Championship for Manufacturers (the precursor to the World Rally Championship), Lancia’s Stratos won a hat-trick of back-to-back titles between 1974 and ‘76.
Having switched primarily to the Fiat-Abarth 131, three more Manufacturer titles followed in 1977, 1978 and ‘80 along with the first World Driver title in 1977 and then another brace in 1978 and ‘80.
Although the Group B era only yielded a single Manufacturer Championship in 1983 (for the 037), Lancia subsequently dominated the Group A era with various iterations of the all-wheel drive Delta HF; six straight Manufacturer titles fell to Lancia between 1987 and ‘92 along with four Driver crowns.
As arguably the most successful rally car ever to grace the special stages, demand for the Delta HF remained strong right up until production was discontinued in November 1994. By this time, Lancia had created an array of money-spinning special editions, among the last of which was the Edizione Finale.
Conceived primarily for the Japanese market, 250 copies of the Edizione Finale were built, all of which featured a yellow and blue HF centre stripe, large pre-Evoluzione-type headlights, black bonnet vents, mesh front grilles, enamelled HF wingshields, special tailgate badges and anthracite wheels.
Inside, the Edizione Finale was equipped with black alcantara upholstery, drilled alloy pedals, some exposed carbonfibre trim, a push-button starter, passenger footrest and silver-dash fascia.
Rarely seen outside of Japan, a particularly fine example of the Edizione Finale is currently residing at the 4 Star Classics showroom in Tilford, Surrey.
First registered in Japan during November 1995, number 182 accumulated a little over 20,000km before being exported to the UK in 2017, since which time it has resided with one custodian.
The car has been regularly maintained throughout its life and, with a little under 25,000km now on the odometer, is presented in excellent unrestored condition throughout.
Importantly, the car’s history file includes all the original Lancia handbooks and manuals along with every piece of maintenance documentation from new.
