More than 10 tuners have expressed interest in the World Rally Championship’s new technical regulations for 2027, according to the FIA.
Next year the WRC will embark upon a new technical era that aims to increase the number of constructors competing in the pinnacle of rallying.
The new technical regulations, which will span a 10-year period, are designed to be more affordable and flexible in a bid to attract not only manufacturers but tuners to the series. Cars will be built to a €345,000 cost cap, deliver approximately 300 horsepower, comprise a space frame chassis and utilise some Rally2 componentry. The regulations will begin allowing only internal combustion engines, but there are plans to open up the technology on powertrains in the future.
Last month the FIA announced Project Rally One as the first tuner to commit to entering the WRC under the new regulations from 2027. The constructor founded by experienced motorsport engineer Lionel Hansen, former FIA rally director and Citroen WRC boss Yves Matton and Prospeed is set to go up against Toyota, which is the other known player developing a car to the new WRC 2027 regulations.
While current WRC Rally1 squads Hyundai and M-Sport-Ford are yet to officially commit their future to developing a new car for the 2027 rules, the FIA says the new technical regulations have created unprecedented interest 12 months out from its introduction.
“Our [the FIA’s] priority is to accompany all the tuners and manufacturers that have already started to work on these projects,” said the FIA’s Xavier Mestelan Pinon in a media roundtable at last week’s Rally Monte Carlo.
“The tuner side is completely new for FIA rally to have a tuner homologate a car and it is a massive success. We have a lot of contacts, more than 10. I don’t say that all 10 will finalise the project but they are working out how to do that so there is a lot of work for us to accompany them, also our manufacturer and also regarding the regulations there are still some technical details to finalise. It is work in progress now to prepare for the 2027 season.”
Project Rally One
Photo by: Project Rally One
Pinon later added: “It is impossible to say [how many tuners will enter in 2027]. Honestly, not 10, that would be a big surprise. It is an ambitious project because when you take the decision to homologate the car, you need also to produce a minimum of 10 over two years and the car for all the people that want to buy the car. That is a massive challenge for them.”
The recent confirmation of Project Rally One has provided a blueprint for others currently weighing up a decision to enter. The FIA expects another tuner will be confirmed soon.
“They [Project Rally One] are the first tuner to make it official that they will homologate a car. For us, it is a very important point as this is the best thing to prove it works well. You will see we will have other ones in the future. For us it is very important, and important to work and discover some things that can be improved and to be sure it is suitable for tuners and manufacturers,” said Mestelan Pinon.
Such interest has confirmed to the FIA that, while it has been a lengthy process to forge the WRC’s long-term technical future, it has made the correct steps to increase the number of participants.
“I think from my point of view this is such a significant step as we have never had this sort of interest in the highest level of rallying,” said Malcolm Wilson, FIA Deputy President for Sport.
“The fact that Xavier said there are 10 tuners interested. I think it took a long time to get the technical regs where they are but I think it has sent a clear message that these guys have gone down the right direction, and it can only be a real benefit for the sport and a real plus for the potential new [WRC] promoter as there will be more teams/manufacturers and constructors. It is a real positive.”
Malcolm Wilson, Team principal M-Sport
Photo by: M-Sport
With Toyota currently the only traditional car maker committed to the WRC’s future, the FIA admits it does need to continue working with manufacturers to attract them to the series. It hopes that once the WRC’s new commercial rights holder is announced, it will offer manufacturers a clear roadmap regarding the future vision of the category.
As previously reported, the FIA says it expects to announce the WRC’s new owner within the next two months.
When asked if the WRC could be heading towards its glory manufacturer participation years of the 2000s, Wilson added: “It is early days, but let’s see, but the promoter is a key role. There is no reason, especially now with the interest from the constructors. There is work to do with the manufacturers but we know there is work to do with the promoter to get the manufacturers interested to get the return on investment.
“We need to admit that as long as we cannot announce a new promoter there are a lot of questions that need to be fixed and discussed with a new promoter.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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