Description
My much-loved HF Turbo is the only known Martini edition currently on the road in the UK, making it significantly rarer than the legendary Integrale. This is in near-weekly use (and stated mileage may therefore creep up), turning heads wherever it goes and attending every car meet I can manage, including Festival Italia at Brands Hatch each year.
Previously owned for 13 years by the Vice Chairman of the Lancia Motor Club, this iconic 80's hot hatch has enjoyed a rolling resto over the past 3 years, befitting from some tasteful and largely period improvements.
Bodywork:
* Front end refresh, compromising bumper, lights, yellow fogs and HF 4x4 vented bonnet
* Lucas 20-20 spotlights
Mechanical:
* Hybrid turbo (2023) supplied & fitted by Auto Integrale, who gave a full health check, replacing numerous other parts
* 2. 75" downpipe
* Stainless steel exhaust system (2022)
* New battery (2024)
* New coil (2024)
* New factory over-boost valve (2023)
* Devil Developments chip (previous owner)
* Kent cams (previous owner)
Suspension:
* Adjustable Koni shocks (currently set to firm) & -30mm springs
* Poly-bushed (2023) using Powerflex Road series to maintain compliance.
* 15" x 6j 8v Integrale alloys refurbished and diamond cut in 2022 and still in great order (original 14" alloys in good condition with new Uniroyal Rainsport tyres also available)
* Bespoke front strut brace by CT Fabrications (2022)
* OMP rear strut brace (2022)
* Additional rear anti-roll bar
Brakes:
* Drilled and vented discs with Mintex performance road pads
Running approx 180bhp at 1. 5bar, the performance is strong, with boost thumping this lightweight hatch down the road with surprising gusto. It's a real delight to drive, handling crisply and with fantastic steering feedback, not dissimilar to that of the Integrale, and (on a dry road at least!) would comfortably sit on the heels of one.
Interior:
* Full (OEM) HF Turbo & Integrale Recaro interior in Missoni cloth in great condition, with the drivers bolster being professionally reupholstered last year.
* Incredibly rare NOS Momo Martini dealer option steering wheel (sourced from Italy) which looks and feels fantastic.
ICE:
* Professional ICE installation by Huets (Sussex), with the interior first being stripped and extensively sound-proofed with two different products, including the full length of the roof underneath the headlining (all window mechanisms also cleaned and re-greased)
The install compromised of bespoke front door builds, housing 6. 5" components, amplifier under the passenger seat and a 12" subwoofer nestled in the spare wheel well. A period-correct Alpine cassette deck, with an Alpine CD changer under the driver seat and an Alpine EQ taking care of the front end. A Tracker system (annual subscription) was also installed by Huets during the process.
Other interior items include a very tidy (removable, if desired) LCD display, cited in the space of a dash vent to monitor almost every parameter imaginable, including injector duration, throttle position, boost, fluid temperatures, etc.
New column stalks (shared with the Ferrari Testarossa, as it happens!) were recently fitted.
The drivers seat is a lovely place to be, gazing upon those 8 lovely yellow-on-black factory gauges and out across the Martini striped vented bonnet.
Issues:
Naturally, no 35yr old car will be without fault:
* Whilst this is a factory sunroof model, the roof has been sealed, filled and the roof painted, thus preventing any water ingress issues: a mint non-sunroof model alcantara headlining (highly rare) has been refitted.
* There is some very very light bubbling on the o/ s/ r arch and evidence of previous repairs to the rear wheel arches, visible only with the rear doors open.
* The front passenger wing has a small dint that could be pulled out with a PDR
* A few general minor marks as you'd imagine for its age, inc touch-up to some lower door areas.
* The gear lever has notable play and would benefit from fresh bushes to tighten it up once again, though the gears select cleanly every single time.
Overall, this is a lovely and pampered car with that Lampredi Twin Cam engine firing first time and sounding great, and driving without fault. This is a solid car with zero structural corrosion, with masses of supporting photographs and paperwork between me and the previous owner.
This HF Turbo certainly has the potential to be a showroom car, but for me the enjoyment has been to properly drive it rather than sit and stare at it, and I'd have had it not other way: I know the car will give the next owner the same great pleasure.
With significant sentimental attachment this is a tough sale, so please only contact me if you are serious about purchasing it: don't let this one pass you by, for when will the opportunity arise again to own one of the most iconic 80's performance cars in the timeless Martini livery?
