ERC
Introducing ERC #ThrowbackThursday
The FIA European Rally Championship is excited to launch ERC #ThrowbackThursday across its social media channels.
Each Thursday, a car that helped to further enrich ERC history will be highlighted, starting with the Lancia Delta S4, which powered Fabrizio Tabaton to the 1986 title.
When the Delta S4 took the ERC by storm
With Lancia once again poised to fight at the front in the FIA European Rally Championship from 2026 with the all-new Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale, it’s the perfect opportunity to look back almost 40 years to 1986 when the Delta S4 triumphed in spectacular fashion in the ERC.
One of the most iconic machines to grace the Group B era, the fearsome Delta S4 was the car to beat during the 1986 ERC season.
With the Martini-backed factory squad focusing its efforts on FIA World Rally Championship success, it was customer teams such as HF Grifone that showcased the S4’s raw speed at European level.
Delta star Cerrato was a double ERC winner in 1986
© McKlein.de
Regarded as one of the most technologically advanced cars of a generation, and as the first car to feature revolutionary ‘twin-charging’ – combining a supercharged and turbocharged engine with advanced four-wheel drive – the Delta S4 was the car to beat in the 1986 ERC.
Italians Fabrizio Tabaton and co-driver Luciano Tedeschini harnessed this technological marvel to perfection, winning six times. Dario Cerrato, the 1985 champion, took two further wins, while Henri Toivonen triumphed once, just weeks before his passing on the FIA World Rally Championship-counting Tour de Corse.
With Group B cars outlawed on safety grounds at the end of 1986, the Delta S4’s ERC reign lasted just one season. Decades later, however, the Delta S4’s legacy continues to inspire drivers, engineers and fans alike.
