Just look at it, it’s beautiful isn’t it? It is the last of the great Lancias, the last of Spec B rally cars. And yet, despite this vehicle being on eBay right now, this is the closest that any of us will actually get to owning one, or even seeing one in person.

[Source: eBay Motors and photobucket]

Let’s say that this Lancia, which is supposedly is all original and in mint condition, sells for $30,000 ($20k-ish as of this writing). Who, short of a collector, would buy it? Someone who drive it daily? Someone who would convert into a rally car? No and no.

There are two reasons why someone would buy this car: 

1. A “collector”,  which means someone who would hang on to it for a little bit and then try to flip it again
2. An enthusiast who has always loved the Delta, wanted it forever, and now will promptly park it in his garage. He will take it on warm summer nights to car shows, perhaps some concurs evens, where he will be a hero to other middle-aged men, such as myself, but that’s about it.

Like it or not, this car will never be used as intended. The next owner will probably sink $10,000 into it over the next five years in order to retain its current original condition. And that’s a good thing as years from now I will be happily explaining the significance of the Delta to my son and I will be happy there is an unmolested example for him to see.

But I will never buy a car like this. $30,000 would put me into the modern version of this car. It has its familiar hatchback shape, a four cylinder engine, a manual transmission, AWD and it comes with warranty. This modern version will out-perform this Delta in every category and will take use and abuse for years to come. Yea, the current generation of the Impreza WRX is hellova value. Buy one while you can, hoon the wheels off it.