Taken from Motor Sport, October 1997

In the mid-1980s, world rallying entered its most awesome period – it was also its darkest. Technology had brought four-wheel drive to the sport, allowing cars to grip harder, brake later, accelerate earlier, and the new Group B rules demanded a homologation run of just 200 cars, clearing the way for manufacturers to build highly specialised rally machines noted for both their prodigious power, but also frightening speeds.

After struggling on against the odds with its ageing 037 Rally, Lancia created what many now regard as the archetypal Group B machine, the Delta S4. In front of me now, on a quiet road in northern Italy, rests that behemoth of its era; an evocative reminder of an unrestrained past. Not only is the Delta the most powerful rally car ever built, it is also the machine that claimed the life of driver Henri Toivonen, Lancia’s world champion in-the-making.