The Hyundai i20 WRC is a

World Rally Car A World Rally Car is a racing automobile built to the specific regulations set by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and designed for competition in the World Rally Championship (WRC). The cars were introduced in 1997 as a repl ...

built by

Hyundai Hyundai is a South Korean industrial conglomerate (" chaebol"), which was restructured into the following groups: * Hyundai Group, parts of the former conglomerate which have not been divested ** Hyundai Mobis, Korean car parts company ** Hyundai A ...

for use from the

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...

. It is based on the Hyundai i20

subcompact Subcompact car is a North American classification for cars smaller than a compact car. It is broadly equivalent to the B-segment (Europe), supermini (Great Britain) or A0-class (China) classifications. According to the U.S. Environmental Prot ...

car, and was unveiled at the

2012 Paris Motor Show The Mondial de l'Automobile de Paris 2012, known in English as the 2012 Paris Motor Show, took place from 29 September to 14 October 2012 at Paris Expo. Introductions Production cars * Audi A3 Sportback * Audi RS5 Cabriolet * BMW 1 Series 3DR ...

. The launch of the i20 marks Hyundai's return to the

after a ten-year absence. The car made its first competitive appearance at the 2014

Rallye Monte Carlo The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially ''Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo'') is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. The rally now takes place along the French Riviera in Monaco and southeast ...

Competition history

The cars are prepared by Hyundai's performance division, Hyundai Motorsport, from a base in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, and were driven by

Thierry Neuville Thierry Jean Neuville (born 16 June 1988) is a Belgian rally driver who is competing in the World Rally Championship for Hyundai Motorsport. During his career, he has finished as runner-up in the drivers' championship five times (2013, 2016–2 ...

, with

Hayden Paddon Hayden Paddon (born 20 April 1987) is a New Zealand rally driver. He was PWRC world champion in 2011 and won the New Zealand Rally Championship in 2008, 2009, 2013, 2018 and 2021. Career Paddon was introduced into motorsport at an early age, h ...

and

Dani Sordo Daniel "Dani" Sordo Castillo (born 2 May 1983) is a Spanish rally driver. He competes in the World Rally Championship for Hyundai Motorsport. He achieved his first WRC victory at the 2013 Rallye Deutschland. Career Sordo began in motocross wh ...

in the 2nd and 3rd cars. A third i20 was entered in the Rally of Portugal for Sordo, In 2014

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...

Production Car World Rally Champion

drove the third car in seven events during the second half of the season. Additional development work was carried out by

Bryan Bouffier Bryan Bouffier (born 1 December 1978) is French rally driver. He is currently competing in the European Rally Championship with a Citroën DS3 S2000. He won the 2011 Monte Carlo Rally and the 2013 Tour de Corse. Career In 2002 Bouffier won ...

. For 2015, Hyundai retained

and

. In addition, Dutchman

Kevin Abbring Kevin Abbring (born 20 January 1989) is a Dutch rally racing driver. His father, Edwin Abbring, is also a well-known former rally driver. Career Abbring started his motorsport career in Rallycross with a 60 bhp strong buggy for newcomers, ...

was the main test driver for the new Hyundai i20 WRC. Thierry Neuville 2 Baiao Rally de portugal 2016

For 2016, Hyundai re-homologated the i20 to compete with the five-door version of the model. Neuville won at Italy and scored seven podiums, finishing runner-up behind Volkswagen driver

Sébastien Ogier Sébastien Ogier (born 17 December 1983) is a French rally driver, competing for the Toyota Gazoo Racing Team in the World Rally Championship (WRC), who is teamed with the co-driver Julien Ingrassia. He has won the World Rally Drivers' Champion ...

. Paddon also won in his debut in Argentina. For the new regulation set in 2017 the car was replaced with the

Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC The Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC (originally known as the Hyundai New Generation i20 WRC) is a World Rally Car built by Hyundai for use in the World Rally Championship starting in 2017. It is based on the Hyundai i20 subcompact car, and is the succe ...

Competition history

WRC victories

Complete World Rally Championship results

See also

References

External links