Rowan Atkinson is one of the funniest celebrity car enthusiasts on the planet. Not only is he a brilliant actor, he put 41,000 miles on his McLaren F1, managed to podium at the 2022 Sopwith Cup behind the wheel of a Jaguar MkVII, and holds a lorry licence. While most of us will never have those sorts of credentials, a chance to own a slice of his collection is up for grabs as his Lancia Delta Integrale is set to cross the auction block. That sounds a heck of a lot cheaper than his old McLaren F1, right?
Originally sold in Japan, this particular Delta Integrale is an Evoluzione II model, the last and best major model in a long line of rally-bred greats. A new engine management system combined with a new Garrett turbocharger bumped output to 215 horsepower despite the presence of a catalytic converter. Minor touches like fresh 16-inch wheels, an alloy fuel cap, and a new steering wheel updated appearances, the color palette was simplified, but otherwise there wasn’t much to visually indicate the Evo II’s new turn of pace.
Circling back to that color palette, every non-special edition Delta Integrale Evo II got beige upholstery, while choice of paint was whittled down to red, white, and blue. Since red ones are fairly common, Atkinson’s blue example stands out as rather unique.
Silverstone Auctions claims that the Delta Integrale’s odometer read around 87,000 km (54,059 miles) when Rowan Atkinson acquired it in May of 2021, and that it now sits at a tick under 90,000 km (55,923 miles). Doing the math, that means it’s covered about 1,500 km (932 miles) per driving season. Considering Atkinson has a whole fleet of cars for his enjoyment, it seems like he got pretty good use out of this Delta Integrale.
Mind you, just because this Lancia Delta Integrale is cheaper than a McLaren F1 doesn’t mean that it’s cheap full-stop. Silverstone Auctions expects it to fetch between £65,000 and £75,000. As someone who remembers how reasonably-priced these cars used to be when ‘90s tin was largely considered old tat and late Delta Integrales weren’t eligible for U.S. import, this stings a little. Seriously, these things were WRX money in 2008.
Still, if you have new sports car money but crave an old hot hatch, this Delta Integrale seems like a sweet option with some seriously cool pedigree. If you fancy bidding on this homologation special, it will be crossing the block at Silverstone Auctions on Feb. 25.
(Photo credits: Silverstone Auctions)
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Sold in Japan, but left-hand drive? Something doesn’t add up.
They never made the Integrale in RHD, presumably as it was a homologation car.
I thought LHD cars were a no-go in Japan.
I don’t know anything about that. But the Integrale was certainly always LHD in the UK. If you’re right, the Japan thing is a bit odd.
Rowan Atkinson is the master of slapstick comedy.
I didn’t know he was a car buff, but that makes sense. He did his extend great physical comedy beyond his body into cars.
That Reliant Robin he always messed with in Mr. Bean has influenced my opinion of three wheeled vehicles since I was a kid. Whenever I see one, it makes me giggle. What is that? A businessman’s tricycle.
Kinda sad that we’re in an era of basically everything cool being out-of-reach. Anything that is old and cool is now a collector car and anything new and cool is milked for every cent. Plus, cars like this just don’t exist anymore. The 3cyl GR twins are as close as you’re going to get and they don’t actually share anything with the race cars.
Guess I should focus my effort into winning the lottery and hoping the utterly insane enthusiast car market crashes.
The gist of it is to just buy bad old cars and have fun with them. If you can find one that hasn’t rusted to death, a normal Delta of this generation is a perfectly good steer, and no doubt you could fettle it to be rather quick indeed. I agree that it sucks for all these cool old cars to be ridiculously expensive, but you just have to get a bit creative to have fun.
Would ordering it and naming it Blackadder be considered a cunning plan?
A plan so cunning you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel!
But not quite cunning enough to brush your teeth with.
And certainly not as HOT.
AS MY PANTS.
Shut up, Baldrick.
Every time I see one of these, I’m strongly reminded of a cross between a BMW E30, a first generation Mitsubishi Diamante, and a dash of first generation Scirocco.
“first generation Scirocco” is was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, so that makes sense..
Even without the celebrity attachment, this car is worth every penny it will fetch. Having driven Lane Motor Museums ’91 Lancia Delta HF Integrale on multiple occasions, which is not even the Evo edition, this one will surely make you shout “Mamma mia!” as the G forces make you spill your double espresso all over your meatballs!
I was idly browsing vintage Lancias today, whilst wishing I was rich, and 75k seems like a steal compared to the prices I saw.
Now I want a sitcom where him and Jay Leno are playing themselves but they also hate each other and engage in ridiculous automotive games of one-upmanship to show the other.
Now I want a sitcom where him and Jay Leno are playing themselves but they also hate each other and engage in ridiculous automotive games of one-upmanship to show the other.
You mean like Leno’s current running bits on Jay Leno’s Garage, with Tim Allen and Jeff Foxworthy as the rivals, except funny?
Makes me think of Tim Allen, as Tim Taylor, and his rivalry with Bob Vila.
Exactly, drop Allen and Foxworthy and get a talented comedian.
It is not really an old hot hatch, more a quicker (and scarier) Toyota Yaris GR. Both are full on rally weapons, the Lancia is just a bit more subtle about it. Only a bit though, those seats are not just
there for show.
Unfortunately, you can only drive it from an armchair strapped to the roof.
If you don’t like the color, you have to repaint it using dynamite.
This is not bad and Rowan is an underappreciated car enthusiast. He has not only drive the F1, but crashed it a couple of times.
If money no object, I would buy something from his fleet. A 1993 puts it into grey market imports to the US.
Apparently, he would also pick his kid up from school in the F1 sometimes.
I am still the kid was being “you are so uncool” as most are.
My kid loves it when I bring the z28 to pick her up. Huge rear window, lots of looks, and other kids wondering how a car can sound that good without a fart can attached.
Sorry, going off on a bit of a tangent here; I daily drive a completely different cool car, a 1991 Renault 4 GTL. My daughter loves it and was always proud of it even back when the other kids picked on her for her dad’s “old car”. Other parents kept telling me how they loved the Renault, and how their earliest car-related memories were from old Renault 4s. It was – and still is – a very popular car in Portugal, and for a good couple of decades a considerable chunk of drivers had a hand-me-down Quatrelle as a first car (my father’s 1980 ended up being the first car of a total of 6 people from the same family after he sold it in 1990). That’s how most kids found out their grandparents had had one (or multiple), and now they all love it. Kids literally run around the school shouting for my daughter when I arrive, and come by to say hi and look at the car.
To me, that’s as cool as a car gets. Elementary school kids are a tough crowd 🙂