WRC rally cars back to non-hybrids from 2025 onwards

Hybrids prove too costly for manufacturers

The World Rally Championship’s hybrid era is coming to an end this year.

The FIA has announced that starting in 2025, the top-flight Rally1 cars will have their plug-in hybrid systems ripped out to make cars lighter and less complicated. This means cars like the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, the Ford Puma Rally1, as well as the Hyundai i20 N WRC are set to lose their electric propulsion and run solely on sustainable fuels next year.

Costs have been the main concern ever since the Rally1 hybrid cars were introduced in 2022, as the nearly EUR 1 million cost of each Rally1 hybrid car is deemed too expensive to attract new manufacturers as well as privateer competitors.

The decision to ditch hybrids has been put in place in the World Motor Sport Council meeting after recommendations made by the WRC Working Group were approved.

“The current Rally1 car will continue as the WRC’s flagship vehicle in both 2025 and 2026 but with modifications to reduce cost and performance. These include the removal of the plug-in hybrid unit, with the performance compensated by a reduction in overall weight, and a reduction in the air restrictor and aerodynamics”, said the FIA.

This makes the ditching of hybrids a year earlier than expected before the new Rally1 regulations take place in 2026. Under the new regulations, a common safety cell will be used by competing teams, and engine power will be capped at 330 bhp. Moreover, the engines and transmissions for Rally1 will also come from Rally2 cars to keep costs down. Under these new regulations, the FIA aims to have each car cost just around EUR 400,000 and will be available on sale directly from the finish parc ferme of a WRC event.

Along with the changes to the cars, the WRC Working Group also suggested new regulations for event organizers and manufacturer teams designed for better promotion of events and cost-cutting measures.

The new WRC sporting and technical regulations from 2025 onwards will be published by June 2024.