Hyundai is not taking concrete steps towards homologating its i20 N Rally2 kit for the 2027 WRC season regulations. Team sporting director Andrew Wheatley explicitly stated to DirtFish that this kit is not currently among Hyundai's priorities. 2024 world champion Thierry Neuville also stated that he has no information regarding the team's 2027 plans.
Neuville: "2027 is completely uncertain right now."“
With the Rally1 homologation cycle closing at the end of this season and a transition to the 2027 WRC27 formula on the agenda, Belgian driver Neuville told DirtFish: “I have no idea right now. Nobody knows what our plan will be next year.” When asked whether Hyundai would homologate the 2027-specification i20 N Rally2 kit, Neuville responded: “That’s not currently the case. And I’m not sure if it ever will be. To be honest, I’m focusing on the second half of the season right now; the 2027 issue is still very much uncertain. Some announcements have been made, but we were desperately waiting for those announcements; as well as news about the new promoter. I know Hyundai management is working closely with stakeholders on the future, but no decision has been made yet. The only thing that’s certain is that Rally1 won’t be there; after that, everything is open to me as well.’
Wheatley listed the priorities: 2026 and the current Rally2 car.
In an interview with DirtFish, Wheatley clearly outlined the team's priorities. "Our priorities are, in order: First, 2026, that's our top priority," said Wheatley, adding, "We're entering the second half of the season in a competitive position, so all our energy is focused on 2026; we won't slow down until the very end.".
According to Wheatley, the second priority is the development of the current Rally2 car: “Work on the Rally2 car, which started at the beginning of the year, is ongoing. We want to have the best Rally2 car we can, both for ourselves and our customers. As for kits, we need to understand a little more how this will work in terms of the sport's regulations; kits are not our priority right now.”
Wheatley explained the reason for not prioritizing the kit as follows: “We are trying to understand our opportunities in the development cycle. We already have a heavy workload with the Rally2 car; making the kit could also require considerable effort. Will we compromise on the Rally2 car, or will we try to maximize it? The commercial market size of the kit may be quite limited. Many competitors come to WRC to build WRC2, and commercially, that is probably the main priority.” Given that M-Sport has previously announced that it will develop a Rally2 WRC kit for 2027, Hyundai's stance in this area points to a noteworthy divergence.