Hyundai's 2017 WRC car has a massive wing

Hyundai hasn’t just brought its really quite mad RN30 Concept to this year’s Paris Motor Show. There’s this thing too – its 2017 WRC car. Based (probably quite loosely…) on a regular three-door i20, Hyundai has been testing its 2017 prototype since April, ahead of its competitive debut at the Rallye Monte Carlo next January. 

WRC is changing for 2017 thanks to a rewrite of the technical regulations. Cars will be allowed to make 380bhp instead of 300 thanks to a bigger 36mm turbo restrictor. The regulations also allow for a larger rear wing, an increase in width and greater front and rear overhangs – for bigger, more outrageous aero. Minimum weight is down by 25kg and cars will use electronic centre differentials.

It’s these new regulations the i20 WRC has been designed to satisfy. Team Principal Michel Nandan said: “The 2017 WRC regulations have allowed all teams to start from a blank page, which has offered us an exciting engineering challenge. The changes will raise the level of entertainment in WRC on stages around the world with wider and more powerful cars.”

The final car, wearing a race-ready livery, will be revealed in December.