Nine-Year Itch: Hyundai to Return to WRC, Cancel U.S. Motorsports Programs [Paris Auto Show]

After Hyundai withdrew from the World Rally Championship in 2003, it set to work creating a long-term plan to establish an in-house WRC team in Europe and develop a new rally car. Nine years later, the company has finally announced it's ready to return to the series with the debut of the WRC i20 at the Paris auto show. Hyundai no doubt hopes it will have better luck than it did with its Accent WRC car, which competed without much success from 2000 until Hyundai pulled out in '03. Hyundai hasn't released specifics on its new WRC i20, but production-class regulations call for a turbocharged 1.6-liter, all-wheel drive, a sequential gearbox, and various aerodynamic enhancements. The interior will be stripped to the bare metal and fitted with a roll cage and other safety equipment. Power will be limited to around 300 hp, but torque figures could top 440 lb-ft. Like many WRC cars, it should hit 60 mph in about three seconds. So, not your run-of-the-mill Hyundai. The i20 will be compete globally against cars such as the Ford Fiesta RS WRC, the Mini John Cooper Works WRC, and the Citroën DS3 WRC. Comparison Test: Sonic vs. Fit, Accent, Rio5, Versa, and Yaris First Drive: 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe First Drive: 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo What's That Drift Draft? In related news, Hyundai has confirmed to us that it is ending its four-season-long relationship with Rhys Miller Racing to "focus on new marketing strategies." That means that Hyundai will no longer be involved in any motorsports in America once the 2012 Formula Drift and Global RallyCross Championship seasons conclude. This also includes the annual Pikes Peak hill climb, where Rhys Millen set a world record for fastest time up the mountain this past August in a specially built Genesis coupe. Given the fringe appeal in America of drifting, rally, and even Pikes Peak, it's not surprising that Hyundai wants to spend its money elsewhere, but we can't say we're not disappointed whenever a manufacturer opts to skip racing on our soil. Here's hoping this particular absence is much shorter than the nine-year WRC hiatus. Read full story » from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com

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