Rowan Atkinson's 1993 Lancia HF Integrale Evo II will be auctioned off.
British comedian and car enthusiast Rowan Atkinson, best known for his role as Mr. Bean, is parting ways with a legendary rally homologation special: a 1993 Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evo II, which will be auctioned by Silverstone Auctions on February 25 by Silverstone Auctions, Inc.
The first generation Lancia Delta had a long life as a humble economy car and rally special; first unveiled at the 1979 Frankfurt Motor Show, the Delta competed in the World Rally Championship during the 1980s and early 1990s.
Manufacturers were required to sell public road versions of their rally cars, so Lancia also introduced performance models of the Delta for homologation purposes during this period, beginning with the Delta HF and Integrale in the 1980s. This was followed by the Evo I in 1991 and the Evo II in 1993.
For the Evo II, Lancia increased the output of the 2.0-liter turbo four engine to 215 hp, which was transmitted to all four wheels via a five-speed manual transmission. That same year, Lancia introduced a second-generation model that shifted away from performance. After the merger of Fiat and Chrysler, there was talk of bringing a later model of the Delta to the United States as a Chrysler.
The vehicle auctioned was originally sold in Japan and imported to the UK in 2011. Atkinson purchased it in May 2021 and indicated that it had 54,059 miles on the odometer. He made good use of the Lancia, but the total mileage remained below 56,000 miles, the auction listing said. The seller expects a hammer price of 65,000-75,000 British pounds (about $78,000-90,000).
Atkinson has owned some pretty interesting cars over the years, including a 1991 Mercedes-Benz 500E that was auctioned in 2019. He also bought a McLaren F1 new from the factory in 1997 and sold it in 2015 after two crashes.