WRC to require electrified cars from 2022

FIA boss Jean Todt believes the world’s premiere rally class needs to play a technological role FIA president Jean Todt is pushing for the introduction of electrified powertrains into the World Rally Championship by 2022 in order to attract more manufacturers to the sport. The Frenchman believes the world’s premiere rally class needs to play a technological role in the industry like the FIA’s other top categories. In fact, he reckons such a change in engine regulations should have taken place years ago.

“It is a big frustration for me not to see that rallying has engaged on at least some hybridisation and new technology,” Todt told Autosport. “For me, this is completely no position; when I go in motor shows in Frankfurt, Paris, China, Japan, Geneva, I only see new technologies. It’s frustrating to see in an FIA world event they don’t want new technologies.”

Todt claimed that up until now the WRC’s teams, which include manufacturers Citroen, Ford, Hyundai and Toyota, have not been keen to integrate electrification into their rally cars – odd, given how expeditiously all of those brands are investing in EV tech for their road cars. Now, however, it seems the teams have warmed to the idea of hybrid cars, and Todt wants new regulations for 2022 to be announced by the middle of this year. FIA rally director, Yves Matton, said this gives the manufacturers “more than enough time”.

Just how electrified will the FIA demand the cars be? There’d be quite a backlash from the WRC’s committed fans if cars were to go full EV. Plans to do the same have already seen manufacturers drop out of the World Rallycross Championship – so a petrol-hybrid seems like the most obvious choice for WRC. Perhaps we could see an electric motor simply boosting the outputs of the turbocharged 1.6-litre four-cylinders that power today’s cars. Or perhaps the regs will go further and require cars to run in electric mode between stages.

It’s not hard to imagine the WRC’s manufacturers supporting such a scenario from 2022, when the current engine regulation period comes to an end. And we can’t imagine the fans would be too bothered either, so long as the cars remain spectacular and raucous. Of course, some may have a different opinion and see this shift to hybrid power as the first step towards the full electrification of WRC.

Source: Piston heads