Of Course the Lancia Delta Evo-E RX Looks Best in Martini Livery
These restomodded Lancia Delta Evos are electric road-going psychopaths turned into race cars driven by nine-time WRC champion Sebastian Loeb and skier Guerlain Chicherit.
Lancia restomods have become something of a vogue. Something about the styling, the history, and the mystique of ‘80s and ‘90s Lancias have inspired a whole generation of younger folks to buy, modify, and even reimagine these iconic titans of rally. Now, one of those restomods called the Lancia Delta Evo-E has turned in a real race car that is going to go racing with nine-time WRC champion Sebastian Loeb behind the wheel.
Before anything else, just look at the thing. A Lancia in one of motorsport’s great liveries is as iconic as they come, with the Martini colors suiting the heavily modified body of the Delta Evo-E. It’s as right as a Rothmans livery on a Porsche 962, or the red and green of Castrol on a Toyota Celica GT-Four WRC, or the blue of Calsonic on a JGTC Nissan Skyline GT-R. The livery is slightly modified from its 1992 Group A specification, but looks just right on the restomod.
Underneath the old-school body is an ultra-modern electric powertrain. It makes 680 horsepower from two motors, one on each axle. And it goes from zero to 60 in 1.8 seconds. When speaking to Top Gear, Loeb commented on how the cars will drive with a central driveshaft connecting the two motors. “You have to get used to it when you’re driving and find the right settings.”
The Nitro RX FC-1 used in Nitro Rallycross features a driveshaft that connects its motors together to help with handling. On a basic level, rally drivers rely on the settings of the three differentials in a normal rally car to determine handling balance during all stages of the corner. If the two motors are freewheeling, the car could have weird or inconsistent characteristics from corner to corner.
It isn’t stated explicitly if the car will compete at World RX Portugal this weekend, but the cars will be there. But if there was a restomod class of rallycross cars, I think the world would become a slightly better place.
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