H2NOi weekend was my first opportunity to lay eyes on Hosen Tandijono's latest acquisition to his fleet of incredible cars, and one I've been dying to see in person. One of these days, I want to do a full write up of all his cars and his journey through car enthusiasm, but while I was going through all my H2NOi coverage I decided to use some photos of his car I snapped while we bought coffees before leaving Ocean City to do a quick write up.
Hosen's current collection of cars consists of an Itasha adorned IS300 drift car powered by a 2JZGTE and an AE86, both of which he also drifts as well as enters in car shows given how immaculate and well thought out he keeps his cars despite drifting them. In addition to his 4 wheeled cars, he also rides around the streets of New York in a Motocompo! Given his track record of Japanese FR machines, his latest addition to his automotive family seems a bit odd.
In the late 80s Lancia took their Delta model and developed a weapon that took the rally world by storm. Through years of competition and development, Lancia created a homologation model history would never forget. Dubbed the Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evoluzione, it featured a twin cam 16-valve 2-liter 4-cylinder turbo engine producing 207hp and 220lb/ft to all four wheels. Most notably, Lancia widened the track and housed its uprated chassis within its quintessential box flares. The HF Integrale Evos are hero cars of the era where rallying was at its peak ratio of speed and danger.
Like I'd imagine any Lancia Delta enthusiast, it's conquests in rallying are a large part of Hosen's love of the HF Integrale Evo along with it's perfect 80s/90s styling that embodies the era of hard lines and quirky design. The catalyst for Hosen's love of the chassis was sparked on a trip to Hong Kong as a kid. While on the highway one night with family, he spotted it's unmistakable boxy silhouette in the distance and, as they got closer, confirmed it was in fact a white HF Integrale Evo. They're rare cars the world over, but especially scarce in Hong Kong so spotting one, especially out on the road, was a special moment that stuck with him for years throughout his growing enthusiasm for cars.
Despite his adoration for Lancia's homologation special, Hosen wasn't actively looking for one. By chance he came across a Bring A Trailer auction advertising this very car. Fortunately it was a right place, right time scenario and he was able to scramble to buy the car of his dreams.
This HF Integrale Evo began life in Japan and was imported to the States before Hosen made it his own. Its Japanese origin ties it to the rest of his collection even better. Given Japan's inability to leave anything stock, and Hosen's own love of modifying his cars, the Evo has been lightly modded to improve the ownership experience, most notable of the additions are the Compomotive TH1s it sits on in a complementary gray. Inside the driver's compartment, Hosen's Evo features a Personal Champion wheel, Final Edition short shifter, and an upgraded stereo to add some modernity to the driving experience. The chassis has been tightened up with the addition of polyurethane bushings to replace the near 30 year old rubber ones. The original 16v is kept stock save for some sound enhancements from an ever so Japanese HKS mushroom filter and a Razaggon muffler-less exhaust to amplify that Italian 2-liter sound made famous by blasting through the trees of forrest rallies.
Cars like this are odd in that they're incredibly special machines, but it's hard to explain to your mother why a 2-liter, 4-door hatchback is special. In a town overrun by people who get it, the Evo drew attention from everyone it passed. Hosen's doing the world a favor by maintaining and enjoy his cherished cars and driving them so he can share them with others. Whether it's driving hours away for an event like this, or slipping in and out of the streets of New York, he's not letting the rare classic collect dust and instead getting his money's worth enjoying it as its meant to be.