PetrolBlogPetrolBlogPetrolBlogPetrolBlog
  • Home
  • 70s cars
  • 80s cars
  • 90s cars
  • 00s cars
  • Manufacturers
    • CITROËN
    • PEUGEOT
    • RENAULT
    • Alfa Romeo
    • Audi
    • Dacia
    • Daihatsu
    • Fiat
    • Ford
    • Honda
    • Hyundai
    • Lancia
    • Matra
    • Mazda
    • Mercedes-Benz
    • Mitsubishi
    • Nissan
    • Opel
    • Proton
    • Saab
    • Seat
    • Skoda
    • Suzuki
    • Talbot
    • Toyota
    • Vauxhall
    • Volkswagen
    • Volvo
  • Features
    • 10 of the best
    • CarTunes
    • General Bunk
    • It’s time to appreciate
    • Major Waffle
    • New cars
    • Regrets
    • Reviews
    • Save Our Scrap
    • Shatchbacks
    • Shednesday
    • The Barn
    • Whatever happened to?
  • Garage
  • Shop
0

I should love the Lancia Delta Futurista, but I don’t

Published by Gavin Big-Surname at 5th September 2018
Automobil Amos Lancia Delta

I’m 100 percent certain that Eugenio Amos, the millionaire racing driver behind the Lancia Delta Futurista, isn’t lying awake at night waiting for my thoughts on his new creation.

I’m also acutely aware of the advice given by Thumper, who said: “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all.” But here’s the thing, the ‘reimagined’ Lancia Delta for a new generation has left me feeling a little cold.

It should present a reason to be cheerful. Like so many of us, I grew up watching the Martini-striped Deltas dominating world rallying – my school textbooks were wrapped in action photos cut from the pages of whatever motoring weekly I happened to be reading.

While school friends worshipped at the feet of Gary Lineker, Paul Gascoigne and Peter Beardsley, my gods were Juha Kankkunen, Didier Auriol and Miki Biasion. Lancia, and in particular the Delta HF Integrale, could do no wrong.

Back in 2010, I wrote an open letter to Lancia, begging for its return to the UK. Three years later, I came over all misty-eyed when reminiscing about my father’s Lancia 2000 Sedan. The fact is, I love Lancia.

So why, then, am I so nonplussed about the Automobili Amos Lancia Delta Futurista?

Lancia Delta Futurista

New romantic

Eugenio Amos talks a good talk. “This car means a lot to me,” he says. “It represents my romantic vision in a world that is too aseptic, too fast, that runs like the wind, superficial and intangible.

“This car means that I had enough of the car world, both as a client before and as a manufacturer now.”

He goes on to recall his childhood, echoing the kind of nostalgic thoughts we all have when remembering the cars from our youth. “I chose the Delta because it’s the car that made me fall in love with cars in the first place.

“I was 7 years old. My father had a beautiful Giallo Ginestra. I don’t know why but it made me feel special. Those memories are made of smells, of that soft Alcantara touch, of confused noises.”

It’s a romantic vision. But is a reimagining of the past really such a good idea? The Lancia Delta Integrale was right then, but this is now. Time has moved on. Isn’t it better to remember the car at its peak, surrounded not by the whiff of nostalgia, but by the rich aroma of its present?

Lancia Delta Futurista profile

Vice City meets mock Tudor

A 330hp, 1,250kg 2018 Delta Integrale might sound good on paper – a new Ford Focus RS is slightly more powerful but tips the scales at 1,569kg – but the reality looks a little odd – almost cartoon-like. The front end wouldn’t look out of place in Grand Theft Auto Vice City, as a kind of pastiche of a box-arched rally hero. Crank up the Jan Hammer and head to Ocean Bay Marina.

It’s all a bit mock Tudor. A bit too Cheshire. A hint of fake news.

Maybe it’s of its time. More Brexit than brilliant. More Trump than triumphant. I want to love it – and my thoughts carry little weight – I’m just unable to get beyond ‘meh’.

The fact that 15 Delta Integrale 16Vs will be sacrificed in the name of the Futurista doesn’t help matters. They might be “much cheaper than the mythical Evoluzione models”, but why should they be mutilated to satisfy one man’s flight of fancy?

Let’s remember, the Delta Integrale was built for homologation purposes. Almost everything about it was designed or created to make the car go faster, to save weight or to maintain Lancia’s dominance of world rallying.

Dressed to impress?

The Delta Futurista is a little OTT – trying too hard to impress. What’s with the three-door conversion? It makes the profile look a bit imbalanced. Does the car need a rear diffuser? And brown Alcantara might work in a Thema 8.32 restomod, but it doesn’t belong in an Integrale.

We live in strange times. Not content with the ways of the modern world, people with deep pockets are willing to spend big money on cars to take them on a trip down memory lane. ‘Barn-finds’, 80s classics, restomods – our antidotes for the drudgery of modern motoring.

It’s no coincidence that as our cars get more sterile and our involvement in the driving experience decreases, our longing for simpler times grows ever stronger. Singer, Eagle and now Automobili Amos – these companies will take you back to the future, for a price.

A Lancia Delta Futurista costs €300,000, in case you were wondering.

I have no doubt that the Lancia Delta Futurista will be well-crafted and will almost certainly be a good steer – Automobili Amos has put a huge amount of time and effort into the engine, suspension and electronics. But the smells, purity, confused noises and, perhaps most importantly, the authenticity Eugenio Amos is searching for may have been lost in translation.

I leave you with this video, which showcases all that was right about Lancia. If this doesn’t stir your soul, nothing will.

As for restomodding and reimagining, until somebody creates a modern Matra Rancho, I’ll remain unconvinced.

Share
3


Related Waffle


2021 Lancia Ypsilon EcoChic

Your reminder that the Lancia Ypsilon is still alive

Feb 5, 2021
Lancia Thesis for sale in UK

I can’t stop thinking about this Lancia Thesis

Apr 27, 2020
Lancia Thesis and fountain

It’s time to appreciate the Lancia Thesis

Oct 17, 2019
Lancia 200 Sedan on PetrolBlog

The 500,000-mile Lancia 2000 Sedan

Jan 8, 2014

2 Comments

  1. Ben says:
    5th September 2018 at 7:48 pm

    I agree with you, I believe that modern recreations are exactly that, recreations, not the real thing. whether it is dropping and electric motor into a fiat 500 or a brand new-old Singer Porsche, these back-to-the-future tickets seem to be missing the point. the reason people love classic cars is because they are a product of times gone by, and offer different perspectives and enjoyment values. A modern take on a classic is basically removing this and adorning it with things that take away the point of the original car. take for example, the electric E-type with its touch screen infotainment system and other gizmos that the original car is just not about.
    I don’t care whether it is better than the original in every single way, if it was a 2018 version of a 1983 car then it just wouldn’t be genuine, and chances are I would take the 1983 one anyway.

    I wish I could write this in a more refined form, I feel like I am going over myself again, but I believe my point was made, hope it is OK…
    very nice piece Petrolblog, a new post on here is always like a treat, and some very clever writing as well, thank you for this great site!

    Reply
  2. Bob says:
    14th September 2018 at 3:57 pm

    Don’t knock Cheshire until you’ve tried it 😉

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest PetrolBlog Videos:

https://youtu.be/fXRLAHLNX7M
https://youtu.be/0vnsNaXh7KM

PetrolBlog in print!

Classic.Retro.Modern

Support PetrolBlog – Buy Stickers

  • French Tat bumper sticker #FrenchTat bumper sticker £3.50
  • My car is the goat bumper sticker My car is the G.O.A.T bumper sticker £3.00
  • Too good to scrap bumper sticker TOO GOOD TO SCRAP bumper sticker/plaster £3.00
  • French Tat window sticker #FrenchTat window sticker £4.00
  • PETROLBLOG laptop sticker PetrolBlog laptop sticker £3.00 £2.50
  • GOAT My car is the G.O.A.T window sticker £3.00
  • Waffle & Bunk laptop sticker Waffle & Bunk laptop sticker £3.00 £2.50
  • Too Good to Scrap TOO GOOD TO SCRAP window sticker £3.00
  • Tollfoolery sticker Tollfoolery car window sticker £4.00
  • PetrolBlog sticker PetrolBlog car sticker £4.00

What you’re saying

  • 18th December 2022

    davidgrayson commented on Would you look good getting out of a Toyota Sera?

  • 12th December 2022

    Lorraine commented on Your reminder that the Lancia Ypsilon is still alive

  • 15th November 2022

    J. Darion DuBois commented on Save it from the ‘Banger Boys’: Peugeot 604

  • 7th November 2022

    Mahmood Razak Bahman commented on Whatever happened to the Proton Coupe?

  • 21st October 2022

    Joey Deacon commented on Whatever happened to the Invacar?

Fresh waffle

  • Citroen 2CV resting on the back of a truck1
    PetrolBlog: the chump is coming back
    13th May 2022
  • 2022 Dacia Jogger in Terracotta1
    The Dacia Jogger is a practical remix of the Matra Rancho
    14th December 2021
  • Toyota Land Cruiser No Time To Die2
    No Time To Die in a Toyota Land Cruiser
    13th December 2021
  • Fahnome Knight Rider build your own KITT0
    Sponsored: K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider is now available as a kit
    17th November 2021
  • Hyundai Heritage Series Grandeur rear light7
    The Hyundai Heritage Series Grandeur is the future we want
    12th November 2021
  • Club PetrolBlog most beautiful1
    Club PetrolBlog members at their most beautiful
    20th August 2021
  • Renault Avantime in Geneva0
    You won’t believe these facts about French cars
    19th August 2021
  • 2008 Citroen C51
    Berlin or bust: the Unmistakeably German ad campaign
    12th August 2021
  • Bridgestone Potenza Sport tyres1
    PetrolBlog looks at Bridgestone Potenza Sport tyres
    11th August 2021
  • Toyota Camry V6 and Porsche 9243
    An unexceptional day out in the Toyota Camry V6
    2nd August 2021

Newsletters

PetrolBlog
ABOUT | ADVERTISING / SPONSORSHIP | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS & CONDITIONS | CONTACT US

The world’s least influential car blog since 2010.

Copyright © PetrolBlog.

0
We use cookies to offer you a better browsing experience and analyse site traffic. We also share information about how you browse our site with our advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you have provided to them or that they have collected for your use of their services.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT