Lancia Delta Evo-e: an electric mod, the keys to which will be given to you by Didier Auriol
Recently it became known that the Lancia brand will revive the Delta model in the form of an electric hatchback in about five years, and meanwhile the classic Delta – a rally legend of the 80s and early 90s – is already available in the form of an electric car through the efforts of the French company GCK Exclusive- e, but the offer is limited: only 47 copies will be produced.
Founded last year, GCK Exclusive-e is the brainchild of French professional skier and racing driver Guerlain Chicherit and his rallycross team GCK Motorsport. The active phase of his sports career has already ended and now the 43-year-old Frenchman is trying his hand as an entrepreneur. He took two powerful trends in the automotive industry – electrification and nostalgia for the 80s – and decided to combine them in one product. His company offers an electric restomod or, as they say now, an electric restomod based on the classic all-wheel drive Lancia Delta HF Integrale, and Didier Auriol, who won the Monte Carlo Rally twice and nine other races with this car, worked to be the GCK Exclusive-e brand ambassador.
Didier Auriol in front of a Lancia Delta Evo-e
The electric conversion of the Italian hatchback from the French racers was called the Lancia Delta Evo-e. From the donor model, in fact, only the chassis and some body elements remain, while the track is expanded, and the body is reinforced with a carbon fiber frame. Most of the exterior body panels are designed from scratch and made of carbon fiber, while the style of the original model is observed flawlessly – the design of the Delta has long been canon. Even the rims look the same as stock Delta sports, but they're brand new and wrapped in modern Michelin tires.
The electric mod retained the original Delta all-wheel drive system with an asymmetric center differential (43/57 in favor of the rear axle), blocked by a viscous coupling, and a Torsen rear self-locking differential, but all components were brought to the state of new, as well as all the elements of the running gear that went into business. Installed new springs, shock absorbers, reinforced silent blocks.
The brakes, of course, are also new, with perforated ventilated discs: front diameter – 284 mm, rear – 227 mm. As an option, 306 mm front discs are offered in combination with 6-piston calipers (in the base – single-piston).
The place of the petrol 2.0-liter “turbo-four” under the hood was taken by an electric motor that produces a constant 90 kW (122 hp) and 200 Nm, and the peak output is 147 kW (200 hp) and 350 Nm. The 5-speed manual gearbox is retained, but strengthened, and upon request, the company is ready to offer “shortened” three first gears and final drive for it. To 100 km / h Delta Evo-e accelerates in 6.6 seconds. The capacity of the 400-volt lithium-ion battery is small – only 30 kWh, the range on a single charge is 200 km. The curb weight of the electric vehicle is 1440 kg.
The interior of the electric Delta retained the aesthetics of the original, but underwent a total revision: installed new Recaro front seats, a new rear sofa, new seat belt attachment points, all upholstery was updated, a new Momo steering wheel was installed, a new gearshift lever, additional instruments, a Blam Audio audio system with six loudspeakers and Alpine head unit with retractable touch screen.
GCK Exclusive-e plans to produce 36 base and 11 Rallye EVs with Martini racing livery, ultra-light Sparco front seats, more refined trim and more carbon fiber parts. In total, by the way, the company has prepared 263 new components for the Delta.
Developers do not disclose prices for Lancia Delta Evo-e and ask customers interested in buying to contact them directly. 11 Rallye cars will be personally handed over to customers by Didier Auriol, and the rest, apparently, will have to be content with the handshake of the less famous Guerlain Chicherit. The riders have not yet announced anything about their future creative plans.
We add that in 2018, the Italian company Automobili Amos made a gasoline restomod based on the classic Delta, and in general there are more and more such projects. Among the latest are the updated “wide-hip” Ferrari Testarossa from Officine Fioravanti, the reincarnation of Lancia 037 from Kimera Automobili, the Renault 5 Turbo restomod from Legende Automobiles and the factory Opel Manta GSe electric mod.
