German magazine Sport Auto typically tests the latest and greatest sheetmetal on the Nürburgring Nordschleife, which is why it's so delightful to see it putting a classic through its paces. Specifically, a Lancia Delta Integrale Evo 2, the ultimate version of the World Rally Championship-dominating hot hatch. It's not quick by today's standards, but who cares?
Driver Christian Gebhardt doesn't push super hard either, setting a 9:12.58 lap time. The Evo 2 is the rarest and most valuable of Delta Integrale road cars, so there's no need to take unnecessary risks. Still, he doesn't hang around, and it is delightful to see this modern classic getting thrown over curbs and being genuinely worked out.
It also helps illustrate the progress in hot hatches. Gebhartdt set an 8:33.6 in the Hyundai i20 N a couple years ago, and in the fastest hot hatch of today, the Honda Civic Type R, he managed a 7:57.29. Even excepting for the fact that he's not pushing hard in the Lancia, it just shows how fast today's sport compacts have become in the intervening three decades.
The Evo 2 was a send-off for the Delta Integrale. Launched in 1993, it offered 212 horsepower from its 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder. It was also the end of the line for the original Delta, which was replaced after 25 years in production by the second-generation version. Lancia pulled out of rallying after 1993, and arguably, lost a bit of its soul. You could say the Evo 2 was the last great Lancia.
