1-of-24: 1992 Lancia Hyena Zagato
The practice of producing limited edition vehicles is nothing new and is almost as old as the automotive industry itself. However, finding a private individual who is willing to stake the money to make their dream a reality is extremely rare. That is the story behind the Lancia Hyena Zagato, with only twenty-four of these classics emerging between 1992 and 1995. This first-year example has only covered around sixty miles since undergoing a comprehensive restoration, and I must say a big thank you to Barn Finder Araknid78 for spotting this amazing Italian thoroughbred.
Lancia enjoys a well-earned reputation for success in the World Rally Championship, with the Stratos, 037, and Delta Integrale all contributing to the ten Constructor’s Championship crowns in its trophy case. Its most successful model was the Delta Integrale, and it is upon this model that our feature car is based. Dutch enthusiast Paul V.J. Koot wanted a Coupe version of the Integrale, and after bureaucratic red tape hampered a direct collaboration between himself and Lancia, Koot funder the Hyena at no small cost. He purchased donor cars at a retail price and had the body panels removed, delivering what remained to Italian coachbuilders Zagato to be transformed into the Hyena. Naturally, the process resulted in a far higher sticker price than first envisaged, which helps explain the low production figure of twenty-four vehicles. This Hyena was the eighteenth car produced and is a two-owner classic. The seller confirms it underwent a comprehensive restoration in 2021, although I view it more as a refurbishment. I base this upon the fact that the car received several significant changes during the process. The Grigio Alloy paint gracing its panels isn’t the original shade, because the first owner ordered it in Red. The Hyena has only covered around sixty miles since the build ended. Naturally, that means it hasn’t had a chance to accumulate any paint or panel imperfections. The Hyena is in as-new condition and is ideal for someone seeking perfection.
Under the skin, the Hyena is almost pure Delta HF Integrale “Evoluzione”. The engine bay houses a turbocharged 1,995cc four-cylinder engine that produced 202hp and 220 ft/lbs of torque in its prime. The power feeds to the road via a five-speed manual transaxle and an all-wheel-drive system for excellent handling and acceleration. The power and torque figures might sound relatively modest, but with only 2,535 lbs to shift, the Hyena can storm the ¼-mile in 14.2 seconds. A long enough stretch of straight road will see the needle touch 146mph. However, this car will undoubtedly eclipse those figures courtesy of an engine remap performed during the refurbishment. That four now produces a claimed 320hp, which is a significant increase. If the standard Hyena was fast, this one would show it a clean set of heels. The current owner specified upgrades to the suspension and brakes to allow this classic to cope with the significant performance improvement. As with the rest of the vehicle, there are no issues or problems to cause the buyer sleepless nights. The low odometer reading since the build means it is barely broken in.
The interior reveals the final set of major changes to this Hyena. The first owner teamed the Red exterior with Black interior trim. However, this made way for unique Turquoise Alcantara that will probably divide opinions. It makes a bold statement, but the color won’t appeal to all tastes. The dash is a sea of raw carbon fiber, with a brace of white-faced gauges allowing the driver to monitor progress and the car’s mechanical health. Unsurprisingly, the overall presentation appears perfect, with no evidence of wear or other issues.
The seller listed this 1992 Lancia Hyena Zagato for private sale here at RM Sotheby’s in Culver City, California. A car of this caliber will always command a premium, with the figure of $250,000 meaning it will have limited buyer appeal. Looking beyond that, the fact that a car of this type even exists is a result of grim determination by one individual to fund something special out of their pocket. That practice is as rare as the Hyena Zagato itself, and with a couple of recent sales for similar cars within the same price range, I won’t be surprised if it finds a new home,
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Comments
I want to luv it, but sorry i can’t, nice interior. And then there is the price!!
Pfft, ha,ha, ha, I’m sorry, I tell ya’, this site, goes from 4 speed Monte Carlos, 1927 Rolls Royces to,,um, this,,thing. The countries around the world sure had their differences when it came to car design. I’m sure terrain dictated much of that, but I’d have to wear a bag over my head driving this. Fact is, I wouldn’t even get in it, except as a passenger, walking on a rainy night in Georgia. It’s not the car proper, sure looks like a sporty thing, and can’t help but think your mechanic/best friend is named Lorrenzo. I realize that’s a low blow, like the Lucas jokes, but a guy that loves ’66 GTOs, Monte Carlos and such, will never warm up to a car like this. Lancia was heard of, but never seen, in Beer City, anyway. A Fiat was rare enough..
One of the things I like and appreciate most about Barnfinds is that theres something for everyone on here. While this Lancia might not be my particular cup of tea as the saying goes, I sure do appreciate the condition and being able to see it. I have ever seen one of these in person. And probably never will due to its rarity. Heck, I didnt even know this existed till seing it here. But still nice car. Nicely taken care of. And pretty quick too.
Thanks D, you are the sobering ying to my raging yang. I don’t understand how a car company can name a car “Hyena”, when the joke was a “Laughing Hyena”. Guess I missed something in translation.
Odd only 1 backup light & no glovebox.
The combination of one clear backup light and one red rear fog light is pretty common Euro spec.
Nobody bought a Zagato special for practicality. The Lancia dealer would happily show you a standard-body Delta, a 5 door hatchback with all the storage spaces you could possibly need, Signor.
I normally prefer coupes over more doors but this just looks. Awkward. The interior and the engine though, perfection. Too bad it’s a car for millionaires. I too, probably never heard of Lancia before coming to Barn Finds. They made some seriously cool cars.
Does look like the “catfish” Packard made the later ’50s Studebakers into. Styling notwithstanding, I bet all that power would be fun.
All that money & it has door vent windows that dont even open – there to make it ez to run wire for the power mirrors. They should have looked at US cars from the ’60s & ’70s with no vent windows to see how they ran a cable for the driver to adjust his or her racing mirror.
Fixed front quarter windows in a door aren’t usually about routing any wiring or cables; they’re about allowing the main pane of the window to fully retract into the door.
If you look at the rear cut of the door, it’s too swoopy to allow enough room for the window to retract straight down into the door, so it has to slide down at an angle towards the front, in a track following the line of that quarter window’s rear edge. If you extend that line downward, you’ll see it points pretty much right at the front lower corner of the door, confirming there’d be no room for more window in front of that track with the window fully retracted.
Well, those vent windows should at least open! American car buyers would have been very angry if door vent windows, say, in the early ’60s all of a sudden on the next year’s new models in the ’60s were fixed & no longer opened – even on the dirt cheap entry level cars sold back then! You need to see in person the huge door window on a 1970-1981 firebird. The glass is very curved & yet the full length door glass amazingly retracts completely into the door. I’m sure Pontiac would have been able to fit full length door glass on this Hyena. What a name!
But in the 1980s, the next gen of firebirds(& camaros to this day) still had the mirror attached to the door skin, but there appeared an ugly triangular piece of plastic behind it, where there used to be glass.
Again, i believe this was a cheapshot & ugly way to make it a lot easier to route remote control cables or wires to the mirrors.
You also see this cheap triangular plastic piece on the 3000gt & even on the modern challenger(tho it it smaller in size on the latter). & other modern 2 doors.
Also to consider, there were a lot of 2 door imports in the past with
vent windows that did not open(including Ferraris!) & some of those fixed “vent” windows were BIG. I think it’s possible that the bean counters wanted to USE a cheaper/lighter/less robust power window motor/assembly with some plastic parts – which meant also making the MOVEABLE side window SMALLER – which meant it was lighter in weight to have to move up & down.
I was thinking cool car not something I’ve ever seen but then I saw $250k and lost interest
As a big Lancia fan (and owner), I want to like this car, but it’s not as pretty as my ’72 Fulvia 1600HF. Has a good story, but what is exclusivity worth? Have passed it along to Lancia friends.
The last time I saw a car with proportions like that was in crayon on construction paper taped to a wall of an elementary school on parent-teacher night.
And while a child should be applauded for the effort, the adult(s) behind this thing should have their crayons taken away….
if i wuz a kid (13 – 30) I might have this as poster in my bed rm (the upper ages – in the garage or bath rm hall). The motor (from my guess) that won all the euro-ralleys of the time (‘80s?) in the: https://barnfinds.com/1-of-173-1984-lancia-delta-integrale-hf-evoluzione-ii/?utm_campaign=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Newsletter+(Daily)
YET placed in this (to me) beautiful road coup. Adam’s best find yet. A super car just by taking out “the +2” and placing btwn the axels. It’s nota camaro, nor seeking to head that direction. I’d probably take it even if I hadda B poured in thru the sun roof, no windows working, glove bx, BU lights, etc~