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The Lancia Delta is a small family car produced by Italian automaker Lancia with the first generation being produced between 1979 and 1994, the second generation running from 1993 until 1999, and the third generation Delta entering production in 2008. It was first shown in Frankfurt Motor Show in 1979. The Delta is best known for its World Rally Championship career in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when it dominated rallying. Lancia offered road-going versions of these competition cars — the Lancia Delta HF4WD and Integrale. The first Delta was a five-door hatchback designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro and released in 1979. For a period of time, it was also sold in Sweden by Saab Automobile, badged as the Saab 600. For a few years after its launch, the Delta was one of the most contemporarily styled cars of its class in Europe and was voted 1980 European Car of the Year. The Delta range was first introduced to the United Kingdom in 1980 and remained virtually unchanged until 1986, when small changes were made to the cars' body shape, the engines updated and the four-wheel drive model introduced.

The successor to the original Delta, the 'Nuova Delta', was introduced in 1993 based on the Fiat Tipo platform. The Nuova Delta was targeted at customers more interested in comfort and convenience than overall performance and power. The Nuova Delta was offered with engine versions up to 193 PS (142 kW; 190 hp), but without four-wheel drive. Until 1995 only five-door hatchback body styles was offered, when the three-door was introduced under the name HPE. In 1996 two 1.8-litre engines were introduced (one with variable valve timing) and the naturally-aspirated 2.0 was discontinued. The Delta was dropped from Lancia's lineup in 1999. The Dedra did get a replacement, the Lybra, which was not offered with a hatchback body style. In September 2006 Lancia officially announced the revival of the Delta name, with new cars to be built on the Fiat C platform, as reported in CAR Magazine. The world première of the new HPE concept was held at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival. The new Lancia Delta was unveiled at the 2008 Geneva motor show. The Lancia brand was reintroduced to Scandinavian, Russian and Turkish markets in 2007. Commercial ambitions for the car appear more cautious than for earlier Deltas: British press reports nevertheless highlight plans for the new Delta to spearhead a return by Lancia to the UK market during 2009, in part to celebrate Lancia's centenary. Delta as well as being an historical name from Lancia’s past is also being interpreted this time around by Lancia as a mathematical symbol that stands for change, difference and evolution. Designed by the Lancia Style Centre, this car is aimed at the luxury end of the small family car segment. The Delta is 4.52 metres (178.0 in) long, 1.797 metres (70.7 in) wide and 1.499 metres (59.0 in) high, and has a wheelbase of 2.7 metres (106.3 in), 10 centimetres (3.9 in) more than the Fiat Bravo.

The new Delta offers a number of options and equipment including a Bose Hi-Fi radio incorporating a CD player and MP3 file reader with steering-wheel mounted controls, the Blue&Me system developed with Microsoft, and brand new satellite navigation system developed with Magneti Marelli. Further technical equipment included to effect the ride and handling will include an advanced ESC (Electronic Stability Control) system and SDC suspension (with electronic damping control, also by Magneti Marelli). The new Delta also has a driving assistant that gives more safety, an electric eye monitors the road and gives feedback to steering wheel to suggest corrections to the driver. The car is available also with semi-automatic parking assistant. For 2011 the Delta got some changes like new Chrysler derived 'family' grille, trim level changes and 105 PS (77 kW; 104 hp) 1.6 Multijet diesel engine for lower consumption and CO2 figures. The new version of Delta will be presented in Geneva Motor Show 2011.[Engines available at launch were 120 PS (88 kW) and 150 PS (110 kW) 1.4 litre Turbojet petrol engines and 1.6 litre 120 PS (88 kW) MultiJet diesel, 2.0 Multijet with 165 PS (121 kW) and 1.9 Twinturbo Multijet with 190 PS (140 kW). A new petrol unit was launched later: 1.8 Di Turbojet with 200 PS (147 kW).