Delta Integrale: £15K Competition update

A very happy Flux comp winner John Crook checks in on life with his dream Integrale

We heard last week from Adrian Flux competition winner Matt Purdon about the ups and downs of life with the Ford Capri he bought with his prize money; now it's time for an update from John Crook on the dream Lancia Delta Integrale he bought with the assistance of his £10K prize money.

Methodical as ever, John's been taking the long path to enjoying his Integrale and making sure everything is just so. Have his efforts been rewarded? We'll let him pick up the story himself! See below for links to previous updates to get the back story on the car if you've not read about it before.

Thanks again to Adrian Flux for sponsoring the competition.

Months of waiting have paid off - time to drive!

John writes: Perfect combinations. There are many. Strawberries and cream. Tea and biscuits. Sundays and roasts. And the best combination I now know - an Integrale and a B-road.

I'm pleased to say the Integrale has been out and about all the time since I last checked in. The MoT was passed the day after I wrote my last report and it's been out wherever possible since! Weekend trips down to the coast, out to see friends, even just grabbing the keys when I have a spare hour and venturing into the country purely for the thrill of it. It's become one of those cars that really gets under your skin. The car seems so capable you never really feel that you're testing it and even when you do it flatters you. It really was way ahead of its time and is more than capable against its modern counterparts.

Just how enthusiastic is John? Rather, it turns out

So where exactly have I been? Memorable trips include an afternoon exploring Ashdown Forest - a place the Integrale feels like it was born to live. A day out at Brands Hatch to watch some club racing was great fun - think it may have got more attention than some of the race cars! It certainly got more than the NSX it was parked next too and that's a great, rare car! I still get that buzz when I come back to the car, the split-second rush that I've just seen an Integrale, followed by the bigger rush when I remember who it belongs too!

One afternoon was spent going out just for a drive ... three times, one straight after the other. Purely because every time I got home I didn't feel I had enough.

Unfortunately one trip wasn't completed because the car threw a tantrum. Annoyingly it was the one I was looking forward to the most - the Festival of Speed. An event I look forward to months in advance. The car had been freshly cleaned and polished ready for the annual pilgrimage down to Goodwood, but only 10 miles in it wasn't to be. Gearbox? Diff? Turbo? Nope, the fuel cap... Yes, you read that right.

Sometimes it's the simplest things...

Stopping for a routine fuel stop resulted in agonising minutes trying to free it. The lock ended up just spinning in my hand and nothing would release it! After trying everything and accepting the reality that I didn't have enough fuel to get to Goodwood and back we had to turn home and leave it to go in another car ... I was gutted! I should probably be thankful that it wasn't anything else letting me down and that it would be an easy replacement (thanks Tanc Barratt again). Still, other than this the car has been utterly reliable. Who'd have thought I'd be writing that about a 20-year-old Italian car?!

Even spending the day wandering round the FoS looking at some incredible machinery there's still nothing that I would replace the Integrale with. Well, not until you get into mega money/lottery winning territory, at which point a Ferrari F40 or original Ford GT40 would be very tempting...

Age only really shows in interior design

It's still a car that divides opinion. Some people just don't understand it at all. Although I'm pleased to report that anyone who has been out in the car soon changes their mind! It's a car that seems to interest any petrolhead - from 17 to 70. At a recent trip to a petrol station I was treated like a celebrity, or more so the car was! People taking pics of the car, or themselves with the car. PistonHeads snapper Tom has shot many a supercar but said he has never had as much attention as he did in the Integrale - be it a light flash, people pointing or, in one case, somebody coming to tap on the window just to give me a thumbs up!

Something that really impresses me is the fact that it still feels modern, despite being nearly 20 years old. The body control is superb (helped with the coilovers, I know), the neutral balance with an obvious hint to understeer when pushed, the steering that gives great feedback and relatively refined for a homologation special. The looks still seem like perfection to me - it's purposeful stance and angular bulges show that the car means business.

Having searched hard it's all paid off

The only thing that does feel from the era is the interior and, more notably, the lag. It really is a case of no power, no power, full power! A grin inducer I grant you, but can be a little unnerving pulling out of junctions! Still wouldn't change a thing about the car though. Not a thing. It's exactly how I imagined it would be and deserves its legendary status.

What's next for me and the Integrale? A summer using it as much as I possibly can. I'll be coming along to the next Sunday Service so hope to see lots of you there!

Previous updates:
It took a while but John finally found his dream Lancia
Is it living up to the hype? Hell yeah!
MoT'd and ready for a summer of fun

Photos: Tom Begley

OP Posts Only

Prev 2 Next

OP Posts Only

Author

Discussion

ManicMunky

Original Poster

709 posts

149 months