The Lancia Delta Integrale has been officially confirmed to be making its return, reports Corriere Della Sera, the brand’s CEO Luca Napolitano told the Italian publication.
The hallowed nameplate with world rallying heritage will make its return as a fully electric vehicle – as will all new Lancia models from 2026. “Everyone wants the Delta and it cannot be missing from our plans. It will return and it will be a true Delta; an exciting car, a manifesto of progress and technology,” Napolitano said.
In the modern era, the Delta nameplate returned in 2006 as the Delta HPE concept, which then emerged in production guise as a Chrysler at the 2010 Detroit Motor Show. While legacy nameplates with motorsport pedigree such as the 037 re-emerged as a restomod project, examples of the original Delta HF Integrale were given a new lease of life through the Stellantis Heritage Parts programme for classic models, including those from Alfa Romeo, Abarth and Fiat.
Back to the rebuilding of the Lancia brand – this will be a part of Lancia’s 10-year expansion plan that has been approved by parent Stellantis, and the Delta will come after the debut of the new Ypsilon that is set for 2024, which the Lancia CEO describes as “only the first step in an accelerated path towards radical change, to restore credibility to the brand in the premium market.”
The Ypsilon nameplate is the brand’s second best-seller after the Panda, said CEO Napolitano, though that appears set to change; Lancia will be aiming to court more of the male customer base of a higher average age, as well as a “more modern and European client,” the publication quoted Napolitano as saying.
Lancia will also be part of a three-brand synergy in Europe alongside DS and Alfa Romeo, and its distribution model is to be concentrated in the “main European cities” where the customer base will be engaged through online sales processes, Corriere Della Sera reported.
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