Lancia has founded a new motorsport division, Lancia HF Corse, to manage its rally activities and will have a factory driver in the European Rally Championship in 2026, after a launch season focused in Italy next year.
Eugenio Franzetti, who is also performance director for sister brand DS’s Formula E efforts, will take the reins of Lancia HF Corse, which is launching the ‘Lancia Rally Trophy’ for its new Lancia Ypsilon Rally4 as a competition within the Italian Rally Championship structure.
The new trophy will take in the six latter rounds of the Italian season, skipping the series opener and kicking off in April. Homologation of the car is currently slated for January 1 2025, opening the remote possibility of a Monte Carlo debut in privateer hands.
“We will work like hell to deliver a few cars to the one that is asking to us,” Franzetti told DirtFish. “But it’s not easy, no.
“We decided to wait for the second [Italian championship] race in April because we would like to deliver the most possible number of cars to have a huge number in the first race of the Trofeo in April.”
HF brand is returning to rallying as Lancia's motorsport division
The winner of this one-make series will win the prize of an ERC drive in 2026, which Franzetti confirmed would be a factory-supported effort.
Its new Trophy competition will be split into three age brackets: Junior for under 25s, Master for drivers between 25 and 35 years of age, and Expert for over 35s. There is a prize fund of €300,000 across the season.
How the Ypsilon Rally4 differs from its 208 cousin
Lancia’s new rally car has plenty in common with the Peugeot 208 Rally4. But Franzetti was quick to dispel any notion that the Ypsilon Rally4 is simply a 208 in disguise.
Firstly, the platform is not the same as the 208 Rally4 – the Ypsilon uses the Stellantis shared mild hybrid platform, with the hybrid element removed for the rally car. Only the turbocharger and exhaust have been upgraded on the powertrain front.
It’s not an entirely new car – but it is, Franzetti insists, still a step forward.
Ypsilon HF Rally4 has begun its testing program
“It’s an evolution,” said Franzetti. “We have a new platform, we have near 30 parts different, all evolved compared to the 208 and the Corsa.”
“The engine is still the same [as the road car] but we work on the cooling system; even if we have to adapt the cooling system to the new front face of the car, it is a different one. Then we have a new gearbox, the ratios are shorter.”
The order book has opened today and one of the first customers is already known: 11-time Italian national champion Paolo Andreucci, albeit for his own rally team rather than to drive himself.
In addition to Rally4-based championships around the world and the newly launched Lancia Rally Trophy, the new car will also be eligible for the Stellantis Rally Cups that currently take place in other countries featuring the 208 Rally4 and Corsa Rally4.
