December 1, 2016 – Hyundai Motorsport has today unveiled its Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC, a brand new car with which the team will compete in the 2017 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC).
The car, which has been designed to meet WRC’s raft of new technical regulations, was unveiled during a static media event at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza.
For Hyundai Motorsport, the three-door Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC represents the team’s third new car since its debut in the Championship back in 2014 – following the Hyundai i20 WRC (2014-15) and the New Generation i20 WRC (2016). Entering its fourth season, the team hopes to continue a positive period of growth in recent years as it embarks on a new era for the sport.
The technical new regulations for 2017 have been introduced to enhance the overall spectacle of WRC even further than before, with cars sporting an aggressive new look. While changes have centred on improving aerodynamic and mechanical grip, there has been an increase in engine power from 300 to 380bhp, a reduction in the overall weight of the car, and the re-introduction of the active centre differential.
Hyundai Motorsport started testing its new car in April, alongside its ongoing 2016 WRC campaign. The car had already accumulated 6,000km of testing prior to the launch, with further tests planned ahead of its competitive debut at Rallye Monte-Carlo in January 2017.
With the new car, the team hopes to build on its most successful season to date, in which it secured two victories and an additional ten podium finishes. Hyundai Motorsport crews finished in the top-three in ten out of 13 rallies last season.
Team Principal Michel Nandan said: “We are heading into a new era for the sport with the biggest change to the regulations for some time. It’s a great new technical challenge and one that we have tackled with enthusiasm. It’s an opportunity to put into practice everything we have learned and experienced in the past three seasons. All teams are starting from scratch so we are on equal footing. Having finished in second position in 2016, we want to demonstrate our ability to fight for the Championship in 2017 – and we are confident the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC will help us do just that.”
There will be an unchanged driver line-up for 2017, which will offer the team important stability with the introduction of a new car. Thierry Neuville, Hayden Paddon and Dani Sordo will contest all rounds of the Championship alongside their respective co-drivers Nicolas Gilsoul, John Kennard and Marc Martí.
