In October, Lancia announced that the Ypsilon Rally4 car, developed by the legendary Italian manufacturer, will hit the market early next year. The new cars will compete in the Lancia Rally Trophy, held as part of the Italian rally championship, with the trophy winner earning a spot as an official Lancia driver in the European Championship in 2026.
Lancia remains the most successful manufacturer in WRC history, with ten manufacturers’ titles. Many rally fans would love to see Lancia back in the WRC, but a significant issue is the lack of a dedicated class for front-wheel-drive Rally4 cars in the championship.
Lancia’s sporting director, Eugenio Franzetti, has now revealed what changes would be necessary in the series for Lancia to consider a return to WRC stages. The key factor is cost control.
The FIA is set to announce the technical regulations for the 2027 season in a month.
“What we need is to have the rules; we need to know how the Rally2 of the future will be made and how the Rally1 of the future will be made. Once we understand this, in a few months we can also understand how much it costs to make them and how much,” Franzetti told Motorsport.com’s Italian edition.
“And then once we understand the rules, we can create a business plan,” Franzetti added.
Once the business plan is in place, Lancia can assess the situation more closely.
“We can put the costs on one side of the scale, and the value of visibility and the revenue on the other side, and understand if this scale is a scale that is positive.”
“We do motorsport and there is a return on investment. The return on investment is given on one hand by the technical and logistical costs of doing it, on the other hand it is substantially the value of visibility, which has a great significance. This visibility also brings you sponsors, partners and so on. All this clearly must be extremely positive,” Franzetti emphasised.
According to Franzetti, the Rally4 car was a logical choice for Lancia at this stage because the class regulations and cost structure are clear. Additionally, the Rally4 car is a commercially viable concept for Lancia.
