Retro Cars Magazine No.71 Martini - Integrale Evo Edizione posteriore

Of the many fantastic cars I have thrust in front of my eager eyes as editor, there are some that simply blow you away. The internet search this month stopped dead after scrolling through Pistonheads classifi eds and coming across a Martini liveried Lancia Delta Integrale.
It’s one of those cars that causes you to take a sharp intake of breath and pull a face like you’re trying to stifl e a fart. It’s a cross between grimacing and crying and to most people, it looks as though you’re about to sneeze, though my colleagues are well used to this expression and know
it normally means that there’s something very cool on my screen.
Gathering around the desk this time, they all nodded in appreciation of this mighty Lancia. That was it, we had to get in touch with Keith Turner, owner of Auto Integrale, to book a test drive. A long run from
our base in Cambridgeshire to Berkshire was an agonising wait as I itched to get behind the wheel of one of my favourite cars ever! What made this roadtest all the more highly anticipated was the 290bhp on
tap and the knowledge that this car is the real deal, not just a well-crafted imitation. Yes that’s right, Lancia actually painted this ‘Grale in Martini livery from the factory and with the Evo bodyshell and Group A light
pod, this is one immensely purposeful rally weapon!
Suffi ce it to say, it turned into a tremendous day hurtling around the rural forests of Berkshire, as you can fi nd out by turning to page 8.
Also in this issue, we chart the ownership tale of a very tidy Mazda RX-7, from a forgotten shell in the garage to a stunning and usefully upgraded pride and joy (page 38). Daniel Bevis and Chris Frosin got an
opportunity to play with a very cool Triumph 2000 rally car whose owner likes to use it in anger (page 26).
Dan Furr travels to the ‘States to cover an incredible and agonising US star’s labour of love restoring his treasured Buick GNX (page 32).