Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The Automobili Amos Delta Integrale Safaristi Is Ready For Anything
A restomod that turns the dial to eleven on Lancia's boxy rally legend!
If like me, you’re a child of the eighties, I am pretty sure you will have seen a Lancia Delta on the road at some point in your life. The boxy hatchback was a fairly common sight, at least in Europe as far as I know, and someone in my neighbourhood had a dark blue one with a tan interior. Even today I can visualise it when I think about the Delta. It is of course made famous by its rally heritage, as it pretty much dominated the World Rally Championship for multiple years on end. By now they have pretty much vanished from the streets, but they are still highly sought after by a devoted group of people. People such as Eugenio Amos and Carlo Borromeo, keep it very much in the eye of the automotive-minded public, with cars such as the incredible Automobili Amos Delta Integrale Safaristi!
A rallying thoroughbred
The Delta was Lancia’s small 5-door family car produced between 1979 and 1999, and then again but with a completely different design between 2008 and 2014. It made its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1979 with a sharp and boxy design by Giorgetto Giugiaro and was voted Car of the Year in 1980. Quite early on, performance-oriented models would be introduced, under the name of Delta HF Integrale. And this would launch Lancia into yet again an era utter dominance on the highest stage of rallying, the World Rally Championship.
Lancia has left a significant mark in rallying way before the Delta, most notable by legendary cars such as the Fulvia, Stratos and the 037. In the 1960s and the early 1970s, the Fulvia was a force to be reckoned with, winning numerous rallys and titles during its life. It’s replacement, the Stratos, was a revolutionary wedge-shaped sports car with a transversely mounted 190bhp Dino V6 in the back and drive to the rear wheels only. The Bertone designed machine proved an instant winner when taken off-road and won the World Rally Championship in 1974, 1975 and 1976. A couple of years of drought would follow after the Stratos’ retirement, but a replacement masterpiece would follow soon; the 037!
Built under Group B regulations, the 037 faced a true David versus Goliath battle but came out on top. When introduced in the early 1980s, its lightweight construction and nimble handling meant it could stand more than a chance against the emerging new tech of four-wheel drive from the likes of Audi and Peugeot. So much so, that it would go on to win the 1983 Constructor’s World Rally Championship in the hands of Markku Alén, Attilio Bettega and Walter Röhrl. Soon after though, the all-wheel drive competition found their groove (literally) and would blitz the little 037 on pretty much every stage.
Lancia’s saving grace was the Delta 4S though, which was a full-blown purpose-built rally car, and one of the fastest ever built. The relatively free rulebook of the Group B championship gave way to a car with a 490bhp turbo- and supercharged 1,759cc inline-4 engine in the back! The wild aero kit was meant to keep the car somewhat planted at insane speeds, and the Delta 4S would win three events in the 1985 and 1986 seasons of WRC. With the demise of Group B though, Lancia switched to the replacing Group A championship with the front-engined all-wheel drive Delta HF Integrale for the following years. This paid off big time, as the mighty Delta would claim a record-breaking 6 constructor’s championships in a row between 1987 and 1992, scoring 46 overall wins, and becoming the most successful car in the history of WRC.
The Safaristi by Automobili Amos
With such an immense legacy behind it and the current popularity of high-end restomods and such, it’s no wonder people would turn to the Lancia Delta once more. One of the most notable companies to do so is Automobili Amos, founded by Eugenio Amos and Carlo Borromeo in 2016. Their combined creative and entrepreneurial minds decided that “what was on the road… just wasn’t enough” and set out to build the best Lancia Delta ever built. And boy did they succeed!
The Automobili Amos Delta Integrale comes in two flavours; Futuristi and Safaristi. The names are pretty self-explanatory as the Futuristi (below, left) essentially does what Singer does with the Porsche 911. Bring a vintage car up to modern high-end standards, with a few aesthetics and a lot of engineering tweaks! Think carbon fibre body panels, upgraded suspension components, a better and more powerful engine, modern lights, a refreshed interior with leather or Alcantara-clad seats and all the amenities you might need, and so on… But, and this is a huge undertaking, Amos also removes the rear doors!
The Safaristi in turn (above, right), takes that concept and runs off-road with it in the literal sense of the word. Automobili Amos’ goal with the Safaristi is to offer “a non-competitive experience to safely reach the limits of both driver and car” in the spirit of the rally legends of yesteryear. The car itself is much more focused on functionality, and a bit less for comfort and aesthetics. Nevertheless, it’s an amazing-looking machine! Starting with a donor Delta, Automobili Amos leaves no nut and bolt unturned and strips the car down to the bare essentials. Everything is repaired, reinforced and upgraded where needed and then built back up to the company’s vision.
The exterior is again converted from a 5-door to a 3-door configuration, which is drawn up in carbon. A full roll cage is installed to enhance the car’s rigidity and the suspension is raised and upgraded to a fully adjustable system to tackle even the most challenging terrain. The front and rear bumper have also been reshaped and raised to increase the car’s ground clearance. Under the hood (or bonnet) is a fully upgraded engine with a new cooling system, Motec ECU, an anti-lag system to make the turbo spool up faster. This sends close to 400bhp through the sequential five-speed gearbox, which sounds more than enough to have some fun on and off-road. But mostly off-road, as that is where the Pirelly Scorpion tyres will likely feel at home the most. Slowing down or stopping, if you ever have the need, is done with high-performance Brembo brakes all around.
On the stripped-out inside, you get carbon racing buckets with full racing harnesses. The Sabelt steering wheel, Tilton adjustable pedal box and Motec instrument panel are perfect to satisfy all your rally desires, with a digital display showing you the gear you’re in smack bang in the centre. Rpm’s on the left and speed on the right, plus shift lights in the top are all you need to blast the Safaristi across the dunes of Dakar or the icy roads of Sweden, all the while channelling your inner Juha Kankkunen or Miki Biasion. Performance figures such as top speed or zero-to-100kph times aren’t mentioned, and it feels more fitting to think of drift angles and jump lengths instead! Given the ingredients for this spicy Delta Integrale Safaristi, it can perhaps be best described as visceral!
Now, talking money is always a touchy subject with such projects as they are often available to only the wealthiest among us. The Automobili Amos Delta Integrale Safaristi is no exception as the base price for the entire conversion is a whopping EUR 570,000. And that excludes the donor car, which costs a pretty penny too if you want a mint Delta HF Integrale to start with. Only 10 will be built, with each one configurable as you please. So… Martini, anyone?
For more information, please visit AutomobiliAmos.it.
Editorial Note: The images and information portrayed and used in this article are sourced from and used with permission of Automobili Amos unless stated otherwise.
