Chassis No. ZLA831AB000500851

Even after claiming the 1983 World Rally Championship title with the 037—the last rear-wheel drive car to do so—Lancia was faced with the reality that four-wheel drive was the way of the future in rallying. Lancia's response to its German rival arrived in the form of the S4 Group B racer, its fearsome pace taking multiple victories in 1985 and 1986 before proving too fast for the narrow country roads of Corsica, resulting in a tragic end to the series as fans of Group B know all too well.

Following the swift end of the category, Lancia homologated the Delta HF 4WD for Group A, launching it during the 1987 WRC season where it claimed victory in its debut year. The emergence of the HF Integrale 8V in 1988 ensured Lancia's continued dominance, securing victories in 10 out of 11 World Rally Championship rounds that year. By 1989, the Delta HF Integrale 16v model had arrived, continuing the winning legacy with further Manufacturers' Championship titles in both 1990 and 1991. With Toyota mounting a serious challenge, the final "Evoluzione" upgrade arrived in 1992 to deliver the Delta's final Manufacturers' title. Taken together, the Lancia Delta's six consecutive Manufacturers' titles, four Drivers' titles, and victories in 46 World Rally Championship rallies make it the single most successful model in the history of the World Rally Championship.

The exceptional Lancia Delta HF 16v Group A presented here, chassis number 500851, played a direct role in Lancia's WRC legacy as a full Martini Lancia Works team entry during the 1990 World Rally Championship season. It carried the iconic livery of the Martini Lancia team with race number 1 and was campaigned by two-time World Rally Champion Massimo “Miki” Biasion in Round 10 of the 1990 WRC, the 32nd Rallye Sanremo.

Chassis 500851 was completed by the factory in September of 1990 during the height of Lancia's unprecedented dominance in world rallying, receiving its Certificate of Origin on the 15th of that month. Upon completion, it was first registered to FIAT Auto S.p.A. of Turin under the plate “TO 56249P,” a distinction coveted by Italian cognoscenti for its “TO” Torino designation. Significantly, it was also one of the very few Delta HF 16vs to carry its registration on the rear bumper rather than on the trunk lid—a change introduced after earlier red-liveried Martini cars had obscured the logos and drawn sponsor complaints. As a result, this car debuted the full Martini branding across the trunk lid to maximize visibility for the team's principal backer.

Underneath its striking Martini stripes lay the potent 2.0-liter 16-valve turbocharged engine bearing serial number 1025, tuned to deliver approximately 265 horsepower; significantly, it has remained in its original factory 16-valve configuration without any modifications to its cylinder head or valvetrain throughout its life. Chassis 500851 was delivered to the Works Martini Lancia team for the 32nd Rallye Sanremo, held 14-18 October, where it carried race number 1. Miki Biasion, alongside co-driver Tiziano Siviero, had already secured victories earlier in the season and used this very chassis to capture four stage wins in the Italian mixed-surface rally. Their campaign was ultimately halted on special stage 27 when a minor collision with debris forced retirement.

In July 1991, the car passed to Leader Cars SRL of Turin, and was subsequently issued a second Passaporto Tecnico on 21 September. That same weekend, it competed in the 14th Rally 111 Minuti with Pierfranco “Franco” Uzzeni at the wheel, finishing a respectable 6th overall. It then appeared at the Rally Autodromo di Monza that November, driven by future Scuderia Ferrari Formula One driver Nicola Larini. There it won three individual stages, won its class, and secured 2nd place overall in an impressive display around the historic circuit.

Throughout 1992 and into mid-1993, the Delta continued to contest the Italian national rally scene, triumphing at the Rally Città di Canelli in May 1992 under Uzzeni, and earning further podiums in events such as the Rally Valle Ossolane (2nd overall) and the Rally Valli Bresciane (3rd in class). It was subsequently sold in December 1995 to Serratosa Caturla Ignacio in Valencia, Spain, where it carried Spanish registration “V-4722-FF.” The Lancia then returned to Italy under the stewardship of the Bresolin collection—a sizeable collection of important rally cars including a Lancia Rally 037 and other Deltas.

Upon its repatriation, chassis 500851 was restored to its original 1990 Rallye Sanremo specification and refinished in its iconic Martini colors. It was presented to Abarth Classiche and, on 1 August 2017, received its Certificato Componenti Meccanici. In 2018, the car passed to Broad Arrow Consultant Daniele Turrisi, who used the Lancia in local events in Sardinia before parting ways with it in 2020.

Today, this Delta HF 16v Group A remains a quintessential example of Lancia's most dominant era. Its Martini-clad bodywork embodies the spirit of the Martini Lancia team's 1990 World Championship-winning campaign, while its uninterrupted chain of documentation and high-quality restoration make it a concours-ready piece of rallying history. Owning chassis 500851 offers the opportunity to campaign this factory-backed Delta in vintage editions of historic rallies the world over, following in the tire tracks of its Works Martini predecessors.