One-of-20 Automobili Amos Futurista for sale

Delta Evo II specials came in all sorts of colours, but never purple...

Has there ever been a more underwhelming motoring sequel than the second generation Lancia Delta? Probably, but the follow-up to the all-conquering Italian hatch was an almighty letdown. The original had been built on its own platform, designed by Giugiaro and adapted into an all-wheel drive homologation monster that cleaned up multiple WRC titles. Its successor, however, was a rebodied Fiat Tipo and while warmed up versions came along, a four-wheel rally special akin to the Delta Integrale Evos never materialised.

Fortunately, the Delta’s steep decline into mundanity (and more recently obsolescence) hasn’t done anything to tarnish the original’s stellar reputation. Of course, you’ll know that if you’ve had a nose at values recently. This (admittedly immaculate and low-mile) HF Integrale 16V will set you back a fiver shy of £45k, while the cheapest Evo II currently for sale is this limited edition ‘Bianco Perlato’ at £88k. The cream of the crop? Make sure you have a good six-figure budget at hand, and get ready to ring up dealers to find out what’s hiding behind their POAs. And if you fancy a Delta with more carbon and less corrosion-hungry steel, you’ll be wanting the car you see here and a very healthy budget to get hold of it.

The name Automobili Amos will likely sound familiar, as the company kicked off its Lancia restomodding with the Futurista like the one we have here all the way back in 2018. It was, and still very much is, a striking and aggressive take on the rally hatch. Changes were aplenty, though the obvious differences to the base car were the removal of the rear doors, the turbofan wheels and an abundance of carbon fibre, especially around the grille. The bodywork was noticeably meaner, with a pronounced front lip and giant ducts behind the front wheel arches. It looked like a Delta, sure, only every millimetre had been perfected for the Futurista.

Just as much attention was paid to the bits you can’t see. While the 2.0-litre turbocharged four was retained, a new intercooler, intake system and exhaust were fitted, all of which contributed to a 330hp output - around 120hp more than the Delta Evo. The suspension was also overhauled for a more playful balance, and because it’s an old Lancia the electrics were gutted and replaced with more modern, less temperamental looms.

Only 20 were produced, and although the original dark-green launch car was a real looker, this one may have it beat. You may recognise the colour this example, chassis 15, is finished in, as it’s the same shade of Viola used on the limited edition Lamborghini Diablo SE30 with contrasting silver wheels. The interior is a bit more muted thankfully, and is trimmed in dark grey Alcantara with a lighter hue used for the seats, which retain the original high-bolster sides as the old Delta Evos.

It’s pretty close to box-fresh as well. Only 500 kilometres (310 miles) have been since its conversion, and don’t be put off by the steering wheel position. All Evos were left-hand drive, with this very purple car registered here in the UK. The price? Lots, presumably. You’ll need to give the seller a call to find out, but the cost of conversion in 2018 was around £250,000. Probably worth budgeting a bit more than that for this one, if only because the donor car is clearly included, though that’s still in the ballpark of the most exclusive of Evo II special editions. And it’s by no means the most expensive restomod in the classifieds, as the Kimera EVO37 Martini 7 we featured a few months back is still up at £1.17m. For that, you could get this Futurista as a daily and a Safarista as an off-road weekend toy. Now that's a two-car garage.

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LotusOmega375D

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