SAMAS Yeti 903

Today's entry will be a shorter one, literally, as there is very little information on this cute 'ute, developed initially in the late-'60s by Delta Veicoli Speciali di Torino, known as Delta. 

Yes, it's a small off-roader based around Fiat mechanicals (can everything Italian of a certain vintage be traced back to Fiat parts…?), and yes, it was produced, to the tune of about 200 units.

Yeti was the next vehicle designed by some of the team who did the Fiat 500 and 600-based Ferves Ranger, the Yeti was designed by Delta to be a small, go-anywhere machine with a neat external framework of boxed steel, canvas roof, and powered by a four-cylinder engine from the Fiat 850.

Figure around 45 horsepower.

Oh, and four-wheel steering that could be utilized even in low range.

(See photos of the underside below… You can thank classic car dealers’ high resolution photo walkarounds and cached websites for what I’ve been able to find…)

The first Delta Yetis rolled off the assembly line in 1968, and I'm sure buyers found themselves at the helm of an almost indestructible urban runabout; in a modern sense, it is essentially a side-by-side off-road vehicle, in the vein of a Can-Am Defender, Polaris Ranger, or some sort.

Turning radius of this little beastie? Just 2.9m (9.5 feet). Note how the front lamps are integrated into its hood, a detail carried forward into the next iteration of the Yeti.