FIA to open up rally’s top tier to all forms of powertrain to attract more manufacturers in ‘changing world’
The FIA has confirmed that the World Rally Championship (WRC) will be open to fully-electric powertrains from the 2029 season onwards, as part of a broader strategy to attract new manufacturers and teams.
Heading into 2027, the WRC is entering a new era with all competitors required to use the same specification Rally2 turbocharged internal combustion engine and a uniform spaceframe chassis to keep costs down and make the sport more attractive to new competitors.
Yet as of 2029, the FIA confirmed that it will open up the engine regulations to all forms of powertrain, including fully electric. Speaking to DirtFish, FIA deputy president, Malcolm Wilson, pointed to the open nature of rally raid (cross-country rallying) as the driving force behind the radical decision.
“We’re open for business [in terms of new technology] from 2029,” he said. “The target is to make it so that the manufacturer has to be in the WRC. We want to make it cost effective, [providing a] return on investment, so that manufacturers have to be here. We don’t want to be having to push and try and get enquiries, it has to become an obvious choice.
“We have that [flexibility] in cross country,” said Wilson. “We have diesel, we have V6, we have V8, we have turbo-charging and it works. We have to accept that it’s not going to be like it’s been for the last 100 years. It’s a changing world. Like I said, if somebody wants to come with hybrid, hydrogen, electric, we’re open for business.”
To ensure a balance of performance, a torque meter will be fitted to each powertrain. The component measures the power delivered to the wheels, and triggers an alarm and subsequent penalty if too much is delivered. The system is used in the World Rally-Raid (W2RC) Championship.
Toyota is the only manufacturer signed up to compete in the World Rally Championship’s top-tier Rally1 category thus far. Hyundai, which claimed the manufacturers’ championship in 2019 and 2020 along with the drivers’ title in 2024, has yet to confirm its participation as a works outfit.
M-Sport will enter a Ford Fiesta fitted with a performance-boosting “Rally2 WRC kit” as it seeks to keep pace with Toyota’s all-conquering GR Yaris, while new privateers, Project Rally One and RMC Motorsport & RFEDA are set to make their WRC debuts in Monte Carlo next January.
At Rally Finland this year, the WRC announced a new promoter headed by ex Renault F1 team boss, Eric Boullier. Under his guidance, he aims to bring the sport back to its manufacturer-loaded golden era from the late 1990s to the mid-2000s.
Opening up the WRC to new powertrains and new manufacturers could very well be the shot in the arm that it needs.
Already, Chinese automotive giant Geely and its Lynk & Co subbrand have expressed an interest in competing. Both companies exclusively manufacture hybrids and EVs – there is not a pure internal combustion model in either’s line-up.
Given that the WRC has openly stated that “we need a Chinese manufacturer”, then perhaps Boullier’s vision is already showing shoots of hope.
“If the rules and engineering are good, why can’t it work?” – WRC legend Marcus Grönholm on the WRC’s EV plan.
