Before this car emerged, it had been some 65 years since the two Italian powerhouses, Lancia and Zagato, had collaborated on a project. Then came along Dutch Lancia importer, Paul Koot, who had seen the success of the Lancia Delta HF Integrale and thought it would make for quite a tasty little two-seat sports car. As it so happened, a Zagato employee by the name of Marco Pedracini had just penned a striking coupe that fit the bill, and so the Hyena was born. 

As a low-volume sports car, the Hyena was naturally exceedingly expensive to build. Koot initially planned for a highly limited run of just six cars, but after the Hyena’s debut at the 1992 Brussels Motor Show secured 14 orders on the spot, Koot set his sights a little higher and developed a business plan for 600 of these unusual Lancias to be built. However, Lancia didn’t seem to share Koot’s enthusiasm, and in the end only 24 Hyenas were believed to be built. 

Koot’s troubles didn’t end there: while he planned for the cars to be built on a rolling chassis, Lancia simply couldn’t oblige. In the end, Koot had to order an entire showroom-ready Integrale as the basis for each Hyena, doubling production costs and putting the Hyena’s 74,000 pound sticker price on-par with that of the Ferrari 348. However, with 200 kilos shaved from the Delta’s kerb weight, the Hyena proved to be one of the best sports cars Lancia ever produced. 

Finished in Grigio Alloy with a fabulous turquoise Alcantara interior, this Hyena has the perfect spec we never knew existed. Its remapped 320-hp engine has endowed this Hyena with spectacular performance, so it should be a proper laugh on a good back road. And with an estimate of between 300,000 and 400,000 dollars at RM Sotheby's upcoming Monterey auction on August 18th, this ultra-rare collaboration between two of Italy’s most-loved automotive names could prove to be a serious investment for any discerning collectors out there.

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