Toyota is the only current World Rally Championship manufacturer building a car for the new 2027 regulations; meanwhile its rival Hyundai is still deciding whether it will compete at all.
Hyundai has been a part of the WRC since 2014, running various i20 World Rally and now Rally1 cars.
However the Korean manufacturer’s long-term future in rallying has been a constant source of doubt in recent years, especially with the company diversifying into endurance racing through the Genesis brand.
Hyundai currently has a Rally2 car, which its active Rally1 drivers have been helping develop as well as using for tire tests to better understand the current Hankook rubber.
Given the timescale involved, Hyundai will not build a brand-new Rally1 car for 2027 but a Rally2 program remains possible next year.
Hyundai sporting director Andrew Wheatley told DirtFish: “We’re all working very hard to understand what the opportunities are as we go forward and to understand exactly what ’27 will look like.
There won't be a Hyundai Rally1 on next year's stages, but will there be a works Rally2?
“Obviously, we can’t have a new car. A new WRC car, that’s not an option. And it’s a question of understanding how we present, and what we present, to the board as the opportunity to go forward.
“But for sure, everybody’s working very hard. But there’s no further movement at the moment.”
Asked if the best opportunity would be a private team with a Rally2 car to keep the manufacturer’s toe in the WRC water, Wheatley stated: “I think every option is still on the table at the moment.
“And I think, you know, we need to understand what the opportunities and what the potential… at the moment, nothing’s off the table.
“So we’re just working through every potential opportunity. The whole scope is still open at the moment.”
As well as Toyota, Project Rally One and WRT Rally1 Spain have confirmed plans to build brand-new cars for 2027.
Their performance will be far closer to Rally2 than today’s top-class cars, but it remains to be seen how competitive the two categories of car will be against each other.
M-Sport, the other current Rally1 team, is expected to run a program with its existing Fiesta Rally2 in 2027.
