Lancia Dedra HF Integrale – Cult Classic, Not Best Seller

Oh Lancia. You were doing so well, where did it all go wrong? From numerous innovations that forever changed the automotive industry to renowned motorsport successes the Italian firm has left an indelible and significant legacy. Sadly it’s now a dying brand with only a single drab and instantly forgettable car to its name, the Ypsilon supermini. Yawn. Gone are the days of Lancia lunatics like the Delta and Stratos tearing up rally stages the world over and racking up copious manufacturer’s titles. Likewise, the luscious lines of cars like the Fulvia Coupé or Flaminia Sport Zagato are now merely a footnote in the annals of the company’s rich heritage. All we have today is a rather uninspiring econobox powered by a jumped up sewing machine that is thankfully only available in Italy, but alongside the heavy hitters mentioned above there are also the lesser known models that have all but faded from our collective consciousness. Cars like the Dedra for instance.

Lancia began life at the turn of the twentieth century as the brainchild of Italian racing driver and engineer Vincenzo Lancia but as we just touched upon, the once respected and influential automobile manufacturer has spectacularly fallen from grace. Once a trailblazer in the sphere of motoring, having introduced, amongst other things, the very first production V6 engine in the Aurelia as well as pioneering the use of a monocoque chassis and independent suspension with the Lambda, Lancia has since become a shadow of a shadow of its former self. And no, that’s not a typo. But we’re not here to talk about Lancia in general, that’s for another article. Today we want to bring your attention to one specific car in the range: the Ypsilon.

Not really. We’re actually going to take a closer look at the aforementioned Lancia Dedra, specifically the spicier HF Integrale variant, a sports saloon that was built to rival similar offerings from the German giants of the time but one that fell a little short of the mark set by the likes of BMW and Mercedes. Introduced in 1989 the original Dedra was marketed as a compact executive, akin to the BMW 3-Series, and was based on the Fiat Tipo platform. Penned by renowned car designer Ercole Spada working at the I.DE.A Institute who was coming off the back of successes with the E32 7-series and E34 5-series, the lines of the car were very much de rigueur for the time without being especially memorable or ground-breaking.

Available with a range of four-cylinder engines it lacked the refinement of its German counterparts but there was plenty of fizz to keep fans of the brand interested. It handled well enough and the cabin was roomy so it made for a practical alternative. Lancia were pushing the prestige executive angle with the Dedra too and as such the models offered were well appointed and decently kitted out with the likes of Alcantara trim and alloy wheels. Posh. The trouble is the car just wasn’t good enough, especially when tested alongside the aforementioned 3-Series and the likes of the Mercedes 190. It’s a shame that Lancia couldn’t capitalise on the huge successes and iconic status of the Delta, neatly channelling some of that magic into a car that could have been one of the greatest super saloons to ever grace the autostrada. At least Lancia made it slightly more rust proof than the Beta…

Speaking of the Delta though, Lancia did have a flash of inspiration when it decided to stick the 2.0-litre, 8-valve turbo from the Delta HF Integrale under the bonnet of the Dedra. This twin-cam motor delivered almost 180bhp and was coupled with the same all-wheel drive system as the donor car. All of this sounds great on paper, the trouble was that the Tipo chassis simply wasn’t up to the job. It was like having fish and mash instead of fish and chips. It was a good idea, just not quite right, resulting in an end product that foundered rather than flourished. It wasn’t particularly terrible, the car was capable of a 0-60mph sprint of around eight seconds and a top speed of almost 150mph but the inescapable truth was that it simply wasn’t as good as its rivals which put the car’s shortcomings very much under the spotlight in any comparable tests.

The Dedra HF Integrale didn’t exactly set the automotive word ablaze when it was released and is largely forgotten now. It also marked a downturn in Lancia’s fortunes as well as representing a time when the company was beginning to lose its spark, a spark that is yet to be reignited. Despite the incredible rallying success of the Delta at the time, the Dedra was a bit of a damp squib that was made progressively slower as time went by thanks to revisions to its engine. The Dedra HF Integrale could have and should have been a highlight of Lancia’s  more modern oeuvre but instead is now barely even considered at all.

We’re still waiting for an Italian renaissance from a company that has historically given us so much in terms of automotive inspiration, the Dedra notwithstanding of course, but there are a couple of them for sale on the Car & Classic classifieds at the time of writing should you wish to pick up a largely forgotten but rare and spicy saloon, one of which has been modified to produce a claimed 340bhp. We’d be lying if we said we weren’t at least a little tempted.