With look at a Lancia revival starting to creep back into this news, features editors’ memories can drift back to the well-known but perhaps too effective Delta HF Integrale . This won so much for the brand name and looked awesome whilst doing it, so its renowned status is well gained, but as it aged as well as cracks grew wider, Lancia rested on its laurels and failed to stop the particular creeping rot.

Instead, what they did had been launch a performance saloon the world would go on to keep in mind as… nothing, really. Hardly anyone remembers the Dedra HF Integrale, and for valid reason: it was criminally average during a period when others were generating some stellar cars. Constructed on a Fiat platform developed above all else to create cost-savings throughout brands, the allegedly superior Dedra’s chassis had none the poise nor the standard to really present anything unique.

At the Dedra HF Integrale’s launch in 1991 BMW was less than half method through the life cycle from the excellent E34 5-series, yet we’re guessing the Lancia team hadn’t also bothered to look at one. Audi had the trusty plus solid 100 and Mercedes was owning the room using the indestructible W124 E-Class. Every housed a good base formula for their respective makers’ tries at fast versions. In contrast, trying to make the ‘hot’ Dedra entertaining and desirable has been trying to make a chocolate dessert with nothing but sawdust plus farts.

Exactly what Fiat had decided to perform was to plonk the particular drivetrain from the Delta HF Integrale ; a strong but historic power unit that out dated back in its earliest type to 1966’s 124 Sports activity Coupe, into a chassis that will delivered less charisma than the usual Pantone chart listing the whole spectrum of beige. It was the 1990s; cars had been much better than this by now. The particular pinnacle Delta would depart the World Rally Championship within 1992 at the end of a greatly successful run of periods, but Lancia couldn’t move any of that car’s miracle into the Dedra. It was among the firm’s most fully-deserved flops.

Lancia lost interest in line with all the resulting public apathy. The particular model progression throughout the Dedra’s miserable existence tells the storyplot: the phase one vehicle from the 1992 model calendar year included a 178bhp, 4WD variant using the 8v Delta Integrale engine, plus a lighter in weight 163bhp relation with 2wd (front) and reportedly a somewhat lower ride height. The particular AWD car would strike 143mph and launch in order to 62mph in seven or even eight seconds – good on paper, but subjectively deficient any real dynamic luster in a changing automotive surroundings.

Phase 2 from 1994 saw the particular Garrett turbocharger replaced with a new 16v cylinder head. The particular revised Twin-Cam was revvier but power dropped in order to 137bhp and the engine did not really suit the car’s target audience. In 1996 energy dropped still further with a substitute 1 . 8-litre engine great for only 129bhp. At this point Lancia quietly removed the HF Integrale badges, which was most likely for the best.

In no way mind the public and their particular annoying tendency to steer lame ducks like this, it had been like Lancia itself did not remember about the Dedra HF Integrale. From such a promising place off the back of unreasonable sporting success, Fiat companies seemingly decided everything had been so rosy they could pay for to lift off plus coast, using old, out-of-date or just poor quality building blocks for any vast degree of parts-sharing that will basically guaranteed failure to get everything it touched. Distributing shoddy parts like Nutella on toast… well, exactly what else can you expect yet a bad time?

Top Gear once shot a celebratory piece charting Lancia’s amazing achievements from the 1970s to how this came crashing down with the 1990s. The Beta will get a lot of the blame on a popular front, but the Dedra HF Integrale is just as clear emblematic of how Lancia, under woeful leadership, basically just gave up. Background has already almost stricken this from the record so we apologise for wasting your time; now you can go back to forgetting the thing actually existed.