SAAB 600 1979–1994
| Saab-Lancia 600 | |
|---|---|
1982 Delta 1500
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| Overview | |
| Also called | Saab-Lancia 600 |
| Production | 1979–1994 |
| Designer | Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign |
| Body and chassis | |
| Body style | 5-door hatchback |
| Layout | Transverse front-engine, front-wheel-drive or four-wheel-drive |
| Related | Lancia Prisma |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine |
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| Transmission |
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| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2,475 mm (97.4 in) |
| Length | 3,885 mm (153.0 in) (1979–82) 3,895 mm (153.3 in) (1982–94) |
| Width | 1,620 mm (63.8 in) |
| Height | 1,380 mm (54.3 in) 1,355 mm (53.3 in) |
| Kerb weight | 955–1,340 kg (2,105–2,954 lb) |
The first Delta (Tipo 831) was a five-door hatchback, designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro and released in 1979. Between 1980 and 1982, it was also sold in Sweden by Saab Automobile, badged as the Saab-Lancia 600.
The Delta was voted the 1980 European Car of the Year.
A special Delta HF Integrale version was a four-wheel drive hot hatch with a turbocharged petrol engine. Modified versions of the HF dominated the World Rally Championship, scoring 46 WRC victories overall and winning the Constructors Championship a record six times in a row from 1987 to 1992, in addition to Drivers' Championship titles for Juha Kankkunen (1987 and 1991) and Miki Biasion (1988 and 1989).
The Lancia Delta S4, which the works team ran immediately prior to the HF 4WD and Integrale models' world championship careers from the season-ending 1985 RAC Rally until the end of the 1986 season, while sharing the same name and appearance, was a Group B race car designed and built specifically for rallying, and was entirely different from the mass-produced consumer versions.
Saab-Lancia 600
The Saab-Lancia 600 is a rebadged Lancia Delta, sold by Saab after a deal with Lancia.
The deal was a part of the 1980s co-operation between the Swedish car manufacturer Saab and the Italian Fiat Group, which includes Lancia and Alfa Romeo in addition to Fiat. The partnership also resulted in the 'Type 4' project, which provided the common platforms for the Saab 9000, the Lancia Thema, the Fiat Croma and the Alfa Romeo 164.
The 600 was developed because Saab did not have the finances to support the production of entirely new models and looked to other companies in order to replace the compact 96 in their lineup.
The first years it was sold as GLS and the exclusive GLE, but due to poor sales because of the high price tag the GLE-model did not last long. The 600 was offered only with the 1.5-litre engine that had 85 horsepower, connected to a manual five-speed gearbox.
The Saab-Lancia 600 was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro and, in common with the company's other models, was a front-wheel drive and a hatchback, with a rallying pedigree. The Saab-Lancia 600 version was sold only in Sweden, Finland, and Norway. The last cars were sold in early 1987; Saab then stopped importing Lancias to Sweden and the local Fiat importer took over from 1 January 1988.
The car is very rare today. In 2012, of the 6419 Saab-Lancias that were produced for the Swedish market, only 159 were left and only 12 were in traffic.