Maturo Stradale

The Dutch-built Lancia Delta Integrale restomod lands in the UK for some tough road-test miles - and feels immediately at home

- JOHN BARKER

PHOTOGRAPHER MATT HOWELL TAKES A step back, which is unusual for him, and hard to do because he's standing against a wall. For a moment I wonder if he's lost his footing but the look on his face says not. I understand his concern later when I see the shot in the back of his camera: the Integrale heading towards him had clear air under its right-hand wheels.

Thing is, from the driver's seat I had no sensation of anything dramatic happening. I chose this bit of road because it is almost stepped by subsidence and I thought the car might look good compressed into it. The really curious bit was that the faster the Integrale hit the bump, the smoother it felt. In the final shot it was pulling hard in third gear.

That's rally cars for you, and make no mistake, it may be painted dark metallic green and have a stylish, fully trimmed interior, but mechanically this is pretty much a fully-fledged rally car. It's called the Stradale and it's the work of Dutch Lancia specialist Maturo, builder of rally cars and restorer of Integrales, who we featured in issue 308. As the Stradale name suggests, this is a road-spec version of the company's Group A Delta Integrale recreation, but it's quite a bit more exotic because it has body panels fashioned from carbonfibre. It causes quite a stir wherever it goes.

We rendezvoused earlier at the marvellous Bwlch Mountain viewpoint in south Wales on a glorious, bright morning. Zion Geeratz, project manager of the Stradale, hopped from a period-correct, Martini-liveried van and looked around, a big smile on his face. This is the natural environment for our car,' he said.