Explained: The factors behind WRC’s big 2027 transition and the hurdles it still faces

The Acropolis Rally service park was abuzz last week, following the FIA’s latest announcement to offer Rally2 manufacturers the option of developing an upgrade kit, costing €7,500, to enable Rally2 cars to compete in the WRC’s top tier in 2027 and 2028.

The move was made in recognition that the WRC is set for a transitional period as it waves goodbye to the current Rally1 rules and embraces a new formula. The 2027 rules, at its core, aim to be more affordable – with cost-capped €345,000 cars, built around space-frame chassis, set to deliver a similar performance, and share some components, with the current Rally2 cars.

The prospect of Rally2 cars going head-to-head with WRC27 cars from next year was confirmed by the FIA last year, although this Rally2 Kit announcement was aimed at providing clarity as to how the two types of cars could compete against one and other as fairly as possible.

The kit will comprise new homologated front fenders, a front bumper and a rear wing to offer “greater aerodynamic parity" according to the FIA, while cars will be 10kg lighter. During the first year of homologation, the manufacturer must participate in all of the events listed on the WRC calendar, with a minimum of two cars per rally.

The kit was also a strategy from the FIA to not only keep its current manufacturers in the sport, but also to allow them time to commit and develop a WRC27 car for the future.

On paper, the intentions are clear and logical but, at the time of writing, M-Sport appears the most likely team to develop a kit for its Rally2 car.

The 2027 WRC rules were announced more than 18 months ago

“The idea is to find a way to get more manufacturers committed and involved in the championship, which is what we all want,” M-Sport team principal Richard Millener told Autosport.

"I think the fact the kit is only available for 2027 and 2028 is a positive thing as it gives people time, but also forces their hand to develop a new 2027 Rally1 car to compete in the top category.

“I think it is important to start pushing manufacturers. The FIA have said this is what we are doing and now they need to come to the party. We have been missing that. We have spent too much time trying to please everybody.”

Rivals Hyundai and Lancia have not ruled out the possibility of homologating a kit, but face several hurdles to overcome, while Skoda appears not interested. Toyota also has no plans to develop a kit for its GR Yaris Rally2 for its customers given it is focusing on developing a WRC27 car.

The effect of the WRC’s change of commercial rights holder cannot be ignored or underestimated. It is fair to say that the WRC has been locked in a stalemate regarding its preparation for the future during the lengthy sale process

How did the WRC get here?

The FIA first announced its 2027 technical ruleset, which will span 10 years, in December 2024 to much fanfare, as its way to rebuild the WRC. The rules are fundamentally designed to attract more manufacturers while also allowing tuners to become constructors for the first time.

However, with less than six months until the 2027 season begins, Toyota is the only automotive manufacturer to commit to the new rules and is well underway with the development of its new car. The Japanese brand will, however, be joined by new tuner constructors in Project Rally One and Spain’s RMC Motorsport.

Of the current WRC Rally1 manufacturers, Hyundai and M-Sport-Ford have ruled out building new cars for 2027 and have focused on utilising respective i20 N and Fiesta Rally2 cars should the teams receive the green light at board level to continue their WRC programmes.

Manufacturers have differing views on the 2027 switch

Photo by: M-Sport

Hyundai has been vocal about the lack of drivetrain freedom in the 2027 regulations but fundamentally there are two factors both teams have stated as reasons for not being able to commit to the 2027 rules. The timeframe to design, develop and construct a 2027 car and the future direction of the WRC as a whole, given the impending change of commercial rights holder. The latter has left them both resigned to the fact that if they continue next year, it will be with Rally2 machinery.

With that taken into account the FIA’s move to introduce a Rally2 kit for a two-year period makes a lot of sense, especially given two of its teams have been focused on preparing, and in Hyundai’s case, upgrading, their Rally2 cars should they be required in 2027.

It is pertinent to add that a slow start to what can become a successful ruleset is not wholly unusual in motorsport, with the World Endurance Championship a prime example. When it introduced its current Hypercar format, its first season in 2021 featured only three brands. Toyota, again, was among the early adopters as it went up against Alpine and Glickenhaus. Five years on and the championship is now booming with eight manufacturers and next year Ford and McLaren will join the party. So, it is far too soon to judge the success of the WRC's new ruleset.

As touched on earlier, the effect of the WRC’s change of commercial rights holder cannot be ignored or underestimated. It is fair to say that the WRC has been locked in a stalemate regarding its preparation for the future during the lengthy sale process, which had been hoped to be completed in December last year.

Without this key deal signed, even the FIA has been delayed in announcing its sporting regulations for next year. This state of flux also makes it incredibly difficult for current manufacturers and prospective brands to convince boards to invest millions into WRC programmes when it is not totally clear exactly what future vision they are committing to.

However, the sale process is understood to be in its final stages, with reports suggesting French automotive company Cosmobilis, led by former Lotus and McLaren Formula 1 team boss Eric Boullier, is the leading candidate to take over the WRC’s commercial rights. Speaking at last month’s Le Mans 24 Hours, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem stated that the process would be resolved within three weeks.

Hyundai is focused on maximising the final year of the Rally1 cars and hasn't yet committed to the 2027 rules

Photo by: Hyundai

The hurdles preventing manufacturers from committing to Rally2 kit

Given Hyundai has been developing its Rally2 car this year to be ready for 2027, committing to the FIA’s proposal seems to be a no brainer. However, the brand is yet to receive a commitment from its board regarding its continuation in the WRC, and now it will have to go back to the board with the FIA’s latest proposal.

In Hyundai’s eyes, its immediate focus is on ensuring it delivers strong results in the remaining rounds, which will no doubt only help convince its board to continue in the WRC beyond this season.

The timeframe to develop a Rally2 kit is tight, but still possible – although that is not the biggest hurdle, according to sporting director Andrew Wheatley. "We started a project to improve the Rally2 car, [last year] both for ourselves and for our customers. At the moment, we need to understand how the [new] technical regulation will work with the sporting regulation because that's equally important. We have half at the moment, but we don't have the other half. So, we will wait until we see what the full package is,” Wheatley told Autosport. "We're evaluating everything. But the priority at the moment is making sure our Rally2 car is best.

"To do a full championship with the car is a massive step in terms of budget and we cannot support that by ourselves" Didier Clement, Lancia Corse team manager

"It's a big development. It could be a big development because it's not just the bodywork, it's the electronics, it's the transmission and the weight. So, it's not super easy. You can do it very easily. But if you want to optimise everything, you're already late. We have to understand how much investment you put in against how much reward you can generate out of it."

Lancia is making its long-awaited WRC comeback this year with its newly developed Ypsilon HF Integrale Rally2 car, which was only homologated shortly before January’s opening round. The brand, part of the wider Stellantis Group, has previously favoured Rally2 as the best business model as it offers a better return on investment compared to competing in the top tier by building a WRC27 car.

Now faced with the FIA’s current proposal there is an interest to take up the Rally2 kit option, but there are two major obstacles. The limited time to develop a kit is one, but perhaps the most important is finding the budget to contest a full season with at least two cars, which is stipulated as a requirement from the FIA.

Wheatley says Hyundai has started to upgrade its Rally2 car

Photo by: Hyundai

This year, Lancia is unlikely to contest more than 10 of the current 14 rounds with at least one car due to budget and the fact the WRC2 championship is decided by seven scoring rounds.

"We had a meeting with the FIA in Geneva to discuss all the details and the schedule is tight," Lancia Corse team manager Didier Clement told Autosport. "The rear wing profile is fixed so it is not really challenging but when you design a front bumper you have to do some tests on rough gravel, fast gravel and tarmac. It is not a smooth process. For us, we are happy with the Rally2 regulation.

“We have two situations, one is to do the kit in time, and it is not easy to do a proper job. But the main problem is if we homologate the kit, we have to do all the events with two cars. The Rally2 programme for Stellantis is a customer program and not a factory programme.

“From our current situation, to do a full championship with the car is a massive step in terms of budget and we cannot support that by ourselves. It is more than double our budget because you increase the amount of events by two when you compete in the top category and you have to add test sessions and workforce."

When asked about finding extra budget from outside of Stellantis, he added: “Of course, it is possible [to find sponsorship] but it is really challenging for everybody in every competition except Formula 1 where it seems it is not so difficult.

“It is clear that 2027 and 2028 are a bridge to 2029. We have never said no [to developing a WRC27] car but right now it is not the plan. The next question is how to do the next season. Nothing is settled yet there is still a chance [we do the kit].”

Lancia currently competes in Rally2 with the Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale

Photo by: McKlein Photography / LAT Images via Getty Images

What is Toyota’s stance on the situation?

While Toyota has made it clear that its focus is on developing its WRC27 car, the marque has supported the Rally2 Kit idea in principle, but understands the situation its rivals face in homologating a Rally2 kit for next year.

"Our strategy has been to follow the original FIA schedule to homologate a new 2027 car. For us, this kind of regulation [Rally2 kit] was not any kind of necessity as we don’t need it," Toyota technical director Tom Fowler told Autosport.

"In all the discussions about the Rally2 kit [with the FIA] we have been in a neutral position to say that if other manufacturers or tuners want to join and need this regulation, we are open to discuss it as long as it is sensible and doesn’t send the performance in any one direction and it is relatively balanced. We went into the meetings with support for the FIA and for the championship for it to happen, but set some boundaries for what it should be technically.

"To help the manufacturers, we reduced the registration fee by nearly 50%, which we felt would contribute towards doing the development and the production kit" Malcolm Wilson, FIA deputy president for sport

"I fully understand and can see their [Hyundai, Skoda and Lancia’s] point of view. If you put a WRC2 Rally2 hat on there was for a long time an opportunity that you could come and do a number of rounds or a round with a Rally2 car and compete in the main championship, which was kind of on the table up until this new regulation came out. So, from that point, I can understand it is a bit of a barrier or limitation that wasn’t expected from some people’s perspective. But our understanding is that some of those manufacturers wanted to have this regulation, but we don’t know which ones and to what extent."

FIA stands by its Rally2 Kit decision

Despite the lukewarm reception from several Rally2 manufacturers when speaking to Autosport about the proposal, the FIA believes this Rally2 kit concept is the best way forward for the WRC to navigate through a transition to new technical regulations.

It is important to add that all Rally2 manufacturers were presented with the Rally2 kit proposal and vision for the future, before it was subsequently voted through.

Wilson says the FIA has been working with the current manufacturers

Photo by: DPPI

"We have been working with Skoda, Stellantis to try and find a way [forward]. What we felt was that we would introduce a kit that will make the [Rally2] car more in line with the 2027 regulations," FIA deputy president for sport Malcolm Wilson told Autosport. "It will make it [the Rally2 car] more aggressive looking with a new front bumper bar and front fenders and the rear spoiler is the same as the 2027 regulation. It was done to make the car identifiable as a manufacturer/constructor car.

"To help the manufacturers, we reduced the registration fee by nearly 50%, which we felt would contribute towards doing the development and the production kit. That is the idea behind it. The whole presentation [to manufacturers] was about everything. What we are looking to do with the new promoter, how they will invest in the championship and what we [the FIA] will be investing in the championship, and what we are looking to do in the interim period with the cars. It [the Rally2 Kit proposal] is set in stone. We have to think about the future. It was voted in favour. I think it is the right thing for the bridging period [to 2029].

"We are having discussions with the companies you mentioned [Rally 2 manufacturers], but let’s just wait and see,” he added when asked about the reaction from the Rally2 brands.

Wilson is also convinced that Rally2 Kit cars will feature on the podium at events next year when going up against WRC27 cars: "I am relying on the technical team at the FIA but I feel from what they know and what they have seen, we feel pretty confident that the Rally2 with the kit [will be competitive]. I am sure there will be one on the podium next year."

The future of the WRC remains up in the air

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool