We were at Delta Days: here are the most spectacular Lancia Delta pictures!

Founded in 2001, Scuderia Lancia Intégrale, based in southeastern France, organized the first edition of "Delta Days", a large gathering dedicated to Lancia Delta. A first on this side of the Alps. The heart of the gathering was located in the commune of Roquebillière, in the Vésubie valley. In the heart of this rallying land, home to the legendary Col du Turini, a tribute to the queen of Group A was in order.

Nearly 120 Lancia Delta cars were expected to take part in this first edition. For various administrative reasons, the historic ascent of the Col du Turini and the baptisms could not take place, but the Scuderia intends to repeat this event and make it grow. And that's all we can hope for, since the quality of the cars on display is matched only by their friendliness! Proof of the interest generated by this initiative was the fact that one of the participants was former rally driver Raul Marchisio, well known among young people as GMK's sidekick in numerous videos.

The Lancia Delta was launched in 1979. The classy sedan went wild when it was joined in 1983 by the HF Turbo version, in 1986 by the HF 4WD and then 1987 by the HF Integral, which became the brand's rally spearhead after the abrupt end of the Group B category. This model in turn underwent several evolutions, with the switch to 16 valves in 1989, followed by the "Evoluzione 1" in 1991 and the "Evoluzione 2" in 1993. In rallying, the Delta arrived in 1985 in the Group B era with the S4, but it was in the Group A era that the Delta wrote its legend, with drivers' titles for Biasion (1988, 1989) and Kankkunen (1991), but above all six consecutive manufacturers' titles between 1987 and 1992.

Here are some of the highlights of the event

Here's Marco's boss car, a 1994 model still in Evolution 1 configuration, imported from Japan. The evolution is immediately apparent in the widened fenders and rear spoiler atop the tailgate. The paintwork and decorations have been done in Italy, while the powertrain has received a few minor optimizations to reach 215 HP, almost as much as the Evolution 2.

Beautiful Evolution 1 (210 HP at 5750 rpm and 300 Nm of torque), with a few touches of decal and, above all, a beautiful dark blue hue, which is not original and was not in the catalog at the time.

We couldn't miss this Delta Intégrale HF 16V "Fina", which quite simply took part in the 1991 World Rally Championship. It was entered by the Jolly Club, while the "factory" Delta cars of course had the famous Martini livery. As can be seen on the door, n°6, registered in Torino, was driven by Didier Auriol and Bernard Occelli in the Acropolis Rally, which he finished in 4th place. This model rightly belongs to Raul Marchisio. Just ahead is the HF Intégrale Evoluzione, which raced in 1992, Lancia's last year of official participation in the world championship.

It's a beautiful HF Intégrale "Evoluzione" from Italy, featuring the same decoration, sponsors and design as the Groupe A cars entered from 1992 onwards, which stand out in particular for their streamlined mirrors. However, wheel deflectors have been added at the front.

The HF Intégrale Evoluzione were out in force, in versions 1 or 2, with a beautiful variety of colors, including black, red and yellow, some finished with leather interiors. The yellow Gialla Ginestra is an Evo 2, and one of the last special series produced. It features Solextra bluish glazing and a richer, better-finished interior. The white one is a special "5th World Rally Champion" series, marketed since the end of January 1992 to celebrate the Delta's fifth manufacturers' championship. As its main motto, this special version had martini decor as well as air-conditioning - yes, there's a certain comfort in purism - ABS and front seats in black alcantara fabric.

In a way, the Delta HF Turbo paved the way for the legend, although it was later eclipsed by the Intégrale. The 1585cm3 block in the HF version achieved 130hp thanks to this Garrett T3 Turbo, compared with 105hp in its naturally-aspirated version (the GT).

This Lancia delta hf turbo ie is fitted with the famous Martini Racing kit developed in 1984 by Chardonnet, A well-known Lancia and Autobianchi importer: in addition to the mudguards and aero kit, the famous Martini Racing piping was also found on the steering wheel, as were the double headlamps.

As the baptisms could not take place, club members joined forces with the association to write a cheque for €2,000 to ASBH, the Association Nationale Spinda Bifida et Handicaps.