Italian Brand Lancia to Revive Legendary Delta Nameplate for 2007

Swoopy Styling, Luxurious Accommodations and High-Performance Pedigree Ideal for North American Tastes

Fresh from its recent cash injection from General Motors, Italys Fiat Group is on the upswing from its terrible financial slump. It has unveiled several new critical vehicles across its associated companies, and has purchased legendary sports car firm Maserati outright from Ferrari. Having restructured and brought order to its state of affairs, Fiat will now turn to its interests in Lancia, the pseudo-luxury brand which has been left to languish over the duration of this rocky time period.

Decaying to worthlessness isnt on the agenda for Lancia, according to those in the loop; Fiat wants to restore the legendary brand name back to its glory, making it a household name once more. Aside from having a history filled with some of Italys most beautiful cars, like the simple Aurelia two-seat roadster and sensational Stratos coupe, Lancia is also one of Italys most prestigious brands, making lavish, custom limousines. The modern-day Thesis sedan is a stunning example of Italian luxury done right. But the deepest resource from which Lancia can tap is its rally heritage. Cars such as the Stratos,
037 and Delta are synonymous with winning rallies; they are high-performance machines designed to dominate the road.

As per World Rally regulations, Lancia produced a limited run of specialty high-performance models, such as the mid-engined Stratos, Type 037, S4 and most famously, the Delta Integrale. Powerful, raw, and quick, these compact models were the European Lancer Evolutions and Impreza WRX STis of their time. And although its been nearly fifteen years since Lancia halted production of any rally cars, the performance and capabilities of these cars have not been forgotten.

Currently, Lancias lineup consists of six cars, most of which are slightly reworked and heavily restyled versions of Fiat or Alfa Romeo products. The lineup has been fairly effective, and covers the main grounds including a subcompact city car, midsize sedan, luxury sedan, minivan and mini-MPV (mini-minivan). One critical gap in the range is a family-friendly compact hatchback, the biggest sector in the European automotive market. This Golf-sized hole in the model range will be filled by the upcoming Delta.

These computer-generated images are a depiction of what is believed to be the next generation Delta. The car draws heavily from 2003s Granturismo Stilnovo concept (see Lancia within the concept or prototype section of this website), a product of Lancias Centro Stile design studio. It is expected to retain the five-sided grille with inset, darkened “t” shaped logo, wide-eyed headlamps and tapered, sloping roofline. Many of these features can be found on newer Lancias, the Delta further strengthening the identity of this special corporate face.

With a sloping roofline, which peaks behind the front pillars, the Deltas shape is sporty and coupe-like. It trails down into a hatchback, offset on both sides by waterfall fenders, and daring curved tail lamps. The cars liftgate plays a clever optical trick: its blackout frame creates the illusion of a large rear window, while in actuality, it is quite small. This contrasts with the rising window line of the side doors, which decrease in height down the length of the car. The attractive Delta will most likely appear in five-door hatchback form first, although there is potential for a three-door version.

The next generation Delta will be based on an adapted version of the all-new Alfa Romeo 159/Brera platform. The “Premium Platform”, which was to be shared with Saab, will be adapted with a shortened length, and most likely 7.9 inches off the 106.3 inch-long wheelbase, to form the more compact Delta. It will utilize the 159s four-wheel independent suspension layout, as well as the option of using Alfas Torsen-based Q4 all-wheel drive system, as seen on the current 156-based Crosswagon Q4 and Sportwagon Q4.

Its expected that a handful of different Fiat-Alfa Romeo-sourced engines will be used for the Delta. The list will undoubtedly include the 160-hp 1.9L and 195-hp 2.2L gasoline direct injection JTS inline fours, and some of Fiats fantastic JTD common rail turbodiesel motors, which are amongst the most refined and most powerful diesel engines available today.

The possibility of the Q4 all-wheel drive system means that there is more than a good chance that this will be the generation in which the Integrale rally car returns. Expect power to come from either a high-pressure turbocharged variant of the 2.2-liter JTS gasoline engine, or from a naturally-aspirated V6.

The estimated time of arrival for the Delta is 2007, with a performance version following by years end, a quick turnaround for
such a critical vehicle. While Lancia enthusiasts should be glad to know that a Delta is in the works, its unlikely that the brand will expand outside of its sales market which consists mostly of Western Europe - at least not for the foreseeable future.

Even though the car would be perfectly suited to North American tastes, with its swoopy styling, luxurious accommodations and high-performance pedigree, look instead for the next-generation compact Alfa Romeo hatch to arrive in North America. Alfa crosses the Atlantic in 2007, complete with the JTS and JTD engines, now that sulphur levels in gasoline and diesel fuels are soon to drop.