Words: Andrew Sluys
Published 23 December 2025
The World Rally Championship (WRC) has unveiled a set of concepts, previewing what we can expect to see from the 2027 Rally1 challengers.
It seems that the WRC is chasing a more toned-down championship on a holistic level, with a lower entry cost, less power, and more pedestrian styling.
In this set of design studies, it’s clear WRC is hoping large automakers will throw their hats in the ring, with styling inspiration taken from vehicles such as the Porsche Macan, Skoda Fabia, and Subaru WRX.
As standard, the 2027 Rally1 cars will be built around a tubular frame safety cell, and have to reference production models.
This is a departure from the current regulations that require manufacturers to use production vehicles as a base for the WRC entries.
Despite this, there will be a reference volume that defines how similar the body panels of the WRC car have to be compared to the production car.
WRC has stipulated a cost cap of around $700,000 for a ready-to-compete tarmac specification car. Though this still sounds like a lot of money, it’s reportedly a 50 per cent decrease from the current generation.
Despite the electric-esque aesthetic of the cars, they have retained a turbocharged 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine.
This engine will make just 216kW, which represents around a 74kW deficit compared to the current cars.
A five-speed manual transmission and four-wheel drive system will also be standard, as is the case with the double wishbone suspension.
Interestingly, the steering and braking systems will be carried over from the Rally2 cars, further reducing specialised equipment.
Speaking on these changes, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem said:
“The WRC27 regulations represent a pivotal moment for the FIA World Rally Championship.
“They establish a framework focused on cost control, sustainability and accessibility, while safeguarding the performance and technical challenge that define rallying at the highest level.”
