YOU NEED TO SEE THIS LANCIA DELTA EVO-E RX IN MARTINI COLOURS
Remember the Lancia Delta Evo-e restomod that sent the comments section into a frenzy a while back? Well it’s spawned a race car, of which there are now two; both gloriously finished in Martini Racing colours ahead of this weekend’s World RX Portugal.
Impossible not to look good, huh? The work of Special ONE Racing, it’s taken the team three months and 2,000 hours of blood, sweat and tears to prep a second, competition-ready chassis.
And the driver line-up features Guerlain Chicherit and none other than nine-time WRC champion Sebastien Loeb, who you can see lobbing (Loeb-ing?) around the black car in the gallery above.
Based on a three-decades-old car but running an electric powertrain, you’re looking at 680bhp and 0-62mph in just 1.8 seconds. Not quite as quick as the Nitro RX FC1-X that didn’t help with TG’s many back problems earlier this year, but still pretty bloomin’ fast.
“It’s a very different car from what I’m used to,” said Loeb. “There’s one engine for the front axle and another for the rear, but there’s no link between the two, no longitudinal shaft. You have to get used to it when you’re driving and find the right settings.
“On paper, the Delta Evo-e RX looks pretty good – compact with good weight balance. The aim will clearly be to get out in front, even if I can’t say today whether we’ll be able to do that. I’m curious to see where we’ll be this weekend.”
Chicherit added: “I find the idea of bringing the Delta back into competition with a similar livery to that of 30 years ago extremely motivating. At the same time, it puts a lot of pressure on our shoulders, because we refer to the most successful car in the history of rallying – so we can’t afford to miss!
“We’ve taken the design of the car very far. It’s shorter than the others, which makes it a bit nervous. Depending on the circuit, that could be an advantage or a disadvantage.”
Come on then comments section. Do your worst.