What we know so far about the WRC’s newest constructor

Project Rally One could contest as many as seven World Rally Championship rounds next year as the tuner operation continues to gear up for its debut in rallying’s top tier.

Last week the Belgian squad became the first team to officially present an example of the WRC’s new breed of Rally1 cars built to the new 2027 technical regulations. Project Rally One is one of two tuner teams, alongside Spain’s RMC Motorsport, that will field WRC27 cars next year. The two new WRC constructors will be joined by automotive giants and reigning WRC manufacturers’ champions Toyota, which has long been developing its 2027 car.

Following last week’s car reveal, Project Rally One has continued the development programme of its 2027 challenger with further testing on asphalt in France this week, before heading to gravel next month when newly crowned European rally champion Teemu Suninen gets behind the wheel. The important work is all leading towards the car undergoing its homologation process on November 1.

Project Rally One has stated that its target is to enter two cars at the season opener in Monte Carlo in January and will focus first on contesting asphalt rallies before moving onto gravel. Team leader Lionel Hansen has now outlined his hopes for 2027, confirming that the car will at least be in action in 10 rounds spread across the WRC and the Belgian Rally Championship.

"For 2027 [we will do] 10 [rounds]. Ten can be in WRC. Or nine can be in the Belgian Rally Championship and one in WRC. Worst-case scenario is the whole Belgian championship because you need to confirm engineers, drivers, mechanics for a complete season. I can confirm to everybody 10 weeks of rallying, plus 10 test sessions," Hansen told Autosport.

“The target is to do, I would say, between four and seven rounds of the WRC. Four, especially if we are able to do Monte Carlo, is the minimum I would like to do because the performance can be there.

“But if you have the feedback from professional drivers, and they don't care about tarmac and they may want only to surprise everybody by starting from a late position on the first day in a few races [on gravel].

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“For example, gravel rallies in the USA or Scotland, nobody knows the stages and if you start last in the road order, you can show something. Then I take this into consideration and probably I change my mind to do two tarmac rallies and maybe three on gravel. But the target is to do the maximum possible. I would say my target is seven and the minimum will be four.”

Who will drive the car in Monte Carlo 2027?

The team is yet to confirm its driver line-up for 2027 but Hansen already has some ideas regarding who he would like to see lead his team into next year.

The team says it has received plenty of interest from drivers keen to be part of the project. During the car’s development testing Project Rally One will use as many as eight drivers, including experienced hands in former factory WRC drivers Stephane Lefebvre, Freddy Loix, Bruno Thiry and Suninen. It appears two of those are among the favourites to secure drives.

“For the professional driver there are not so many opportunities at the moment,” added Hansen. "At the moment, if everything goes well, the drivers are happy and we have no troubles, and we find partners as we expect, if we start Monte Carlo with Lefebvre and Suninen, for me, it's already a good line-up to do the race. We would have experienced drivers on tarmac and gravel, and it's not a shame to start Monte Carlo with this line-up.

“If, for example, we have only one professional car in the World Rally Championship and we do six, seven rallies. Three on tarmac with Lefebvre, and four on tarmac or gravel with Suninen, and we have next to this a second car which is a customer car, it's not a shame for the first season.

“To be clear, at the moment, the line-up for me is chosen by the mileage we will do. If we do the mileage with Lefebvre and Suninen, and they are both happy, I have no reason to change.”

Teemu Suninen, Hyundai i20 N Rally2

Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images

What is behind the Porsche-like car design?

Another topic that has caught the attention of the rally world is the design of Project Rally One’s WRC car, which appears to lean heavily on the Porsche Macan road car.

Hansen has ties with the German manufacturer having successfully developed the Porsche 992 RGT Rally car, but has reiterated that Porsche has no involvement in the current project. Although he admitted that initial discussions were held with the brand, which is keeping an eye on the programme.

When asked if the team had spoken with Porsche about its plans, Hansen said: “Of course, Last year, I discussed with FIA about the Tuner WRC project. Xavier Mestelan-Pinon [FIA Chief Technical and Safety Officer] told me that if you think you can throw something together quickly at the end of the year [2025] you will know more about the interest of Porsche and potential customers.

“That's why we realised the first prototype in only eleven weeks. We showed it in December at the Belgium Federation show at the end of the season, and we have so much feedback from suppliers, also from Porsche.

“Porsche told us that they cannot really help us so fast because the [motorsport] budget was already committed for the 2027 season, and they cannot really trust that in a few months, less than one season, we can realise this [project for 2027]. But they follow the project. They didn't pay anything. They didn't help us, I would say more than this.

“If this car looks like a Porsche, which is true, never would Porsche let us present this car with this design without the agreement. At the moment, I can do what I want. If tomorrow I can sell the project to another supplier, another manufacturer, I can. But at the end, it looks like a Porsche. It also helps us to have a strong design and also some people's interest in this car is because it looks like a Porsche.”

However, Hansen is not ruling out the prospect of future involvement from Porsche through its network of dealers and importers.

“From Porsche Motorsport, I don't think so [secure factory involvement in the project] because they already have many programmes. But you never know. If we go to a country, for example, Paraguay, Chile, or if we go to the USA, there could be some interest from national importers, some dealers or people around the Porsche world who want to use this car because it looks like a Porsche” he added.

“It's no problem if we go to Monte Carlo and if we have the support of the Porsche dealer from Monte Carlo. It can help maybe myself and the project.”