Lancia has confirmed today that it is developing a brand-new rally car: the Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale.
Just last week, videos surfaced on social media of a Lancia rally car testing in France. Given the car’s size and speed, speculation quickly spread that the Italian brand, part of the Stellantis Group, was working not only on a Rally2 machine but possibly even on a prototype for the upcoming 2027 WRC regulations.
Today, Lancia has put those rumors to rest: “The whispers are true: the New Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale is here,” reads the headline of the official announcement.
In a short, two-sentence but telling statement, Lancia said: “The New Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale makes its debut, bringing the legendary spirit of Lancia’s rally victories into today’s motorsport. And this is just the beginning.”
Rally2 & WRC27 in 2027
Alongside the statement, the brand also released several photos of the new Rally2 car. In the final line of the announcement, Lancia even hinted at something bigger, especially in light of the major regulation changes the WRC will undergo in 2027.
The current Rally1 cars, the top tier of the WRC (World Rally Championship), will disappear after 2026. Their successors will be the so-called WRC27 cars: machines with around 300 horsepower, built on a (standardised) tubular frame chassis and fitted with Rally2 components, like the engine.
From 2027 onwards, today’s Rally2 cars will compete in the same class as the new WRC27 machines. This effectively makes the class the new pinnacle of rallying, meaning that with the Ypsilon Rally2, Lancia could, in theory, compete at the very highest level of the WRC.
The brand has ten manufacturers’ titles to its name in the WRC, still holding the record to this day.
Last year, after a long absence, Lancia returned to rallying with the Ypsilon Rally4.
When the new Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale will be homologated has not yet been announced.
PHOTOS: Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale
Photos: Lancia
