Hyundai Launches Upgraded i20 R5 Rally Car For 2018

Customer racing cars are fast becoming big business for automakers around the world. But Hyundai, for one, isn’t satisfied developing and releasing a competition vehicle and leaving it to its client teams to make the best of it.

The Korean automaker has announced a series of revision to its i20 R5 rally car for the 2018 season ahead, promising “a more powerful, responsive car this season, thanks to the continued work of the engineers within the team’s Customer Racing department.”

The focus of the continued development is on the 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine, which now boasts variable timing, improved engine mapping, and better throttle response. But that’s not all.

Along with the engine upgrades, Hyundai’s motorsport department says it has improved the chassis for better handling, with new dampers for both tarmac and gravel surfaces. There’s a wider range of differential mapping as well, available to teams buying the updated car as well as those upgrading their existing ones.

“In our efforts with the i20 R5 and our customers we are always aiming to make sure they can compete at the very front of whatever championship they choose,” says Hyundai Motorsport customer racing department manager Andrea Adamo. “The rapid pace of development within the R5 category means that we constantly have to be working in order to guarantee this.”

The i20 R5 faces stiff competition from similarly prepared versions of the Ford Fiesta, Citroën C3, Peugeot 208, Volkswagen Polo GTI, and Skoda Fabia. R5 rally cars are eligible for a wide array of rally championships, including the WRC2 class and numerous national and regional series.

“These latest improvement are the most important we have made since the car’s debut, and will allow our customers to again challenge for rally wins and championship titles around the world,” continues Adamo. “This season our customers are competing in a wider range of championships, so we have to make sure we continue our work in order for them to be on the pace in all conditions.”