Nerd’s Eye View: Lancia Delta HF Integrale

Khiem Dinh is an engineer for Honeywell Turbo Technologies at the time of this writing. All statements and opinions expressed by Khiem Dinh are solely those of Khiem Dinh and not reflective of Honeywell Turbo Technologies.

The Lancia Delta HF Integrale dominated Group A rally racing after the unlimited insaneness of the Group B rally cars was abolished. While the Group A cars had only a fraction of the horsepower of the former top-level Group B cars in an attempt to make the cars safer, they were still by no means slow.

The largest engine to be offered in the Delta was a 2.0L turbocharged gasoline engine. The engine is placed quite far forward in the engine bay which I am guessing is to make space for the 4WD system. The basic layout of the engine with the exhaust manifold at the front and the intake manifold at the rear was the common layout up until the turn of the century where now many cars have the intake manifold up front and the exhaust manifold against the rear firewall. This particular inline-4 does appear to be tilted forward a bit which is not common. I am pretty sure the fan you see in the duct at the back of the engine bay is just to pump air into the cabin. The largest engine to be offered in the Delta was a 2.0L turbocharged gasoline engine. The engine is placed quite far forward in the engine bay which I am guessing is to make space for the 4WD system. The basic layout of the engine with the exhaust manifold at the front and the intake manifold at the rear was the common layout up until the turn of the century where now many cars have the intake manifold up front and the exhaust manifold against the rear firewall. This particular inline-4 does appear to be tilted forward a bit which is not common. I am pretty sure the fan you see in the duct at the back of the engine bay is just to pump air into the cabin.

The intake manifold reminds me of the one on my good ole SR20. No coil-on-plug coil packs back in the day when this engine was made, just good ole spark plug wires. The intake manifold reminds me of the one on my good ole SR20. No coil-on-plug coil packs back in the day when this engine was made, just good ole spark plug wires.

Magneti Marelli electronics are used to control the engine. This appears to be a fancy for the era distributor for the ignition system. Perhaps it was required for an anti-lag system. It’s certainly not the simple cap and rotor typically seen on more pedestrian cars. Below and to the right of the distributor is a big copper grounding strap. Connecting the engine to the chassis is the rod on the right used to limit engine movement. Notice this design uses a bushing to absorb some of the engine vibrations. The big black cylinder is some type of pressure accumulator for which I do not know the purpose. Anyone have some insight? Magneti Marelli electronics are used to control the engine. This appears to be a fancy for the era distributor for the ignition system. Perhaps it was required for an anti-lag system. It’s certainly not the simple cap and rotor typically seen on more pedestrian cars. Below and to the right of the distributor is a big copper grounding strap. Connecting the engine to the chassis is the rod on the right used to limit engine movement. Notice this design uses a bushing to absorb some of the engine vibrations. The big black cylinder is some type of pressure accumulator for which I do not know the purpose. Anyone have some insight?

The cap on the coolant reservoir is safety wired. Because racecar! The strut tower appears to have some additional bracing from the rod welded into it in the lower left. The cap on the coolant reservoir is safety wired. Because racecar! The strut tower appears to have some additional bracing from the rod welded into it in the lower left.