Hyundai i20 WRC starts testing

Hyundai has been busy plotting its return to WRC Rallying for 2014, but so far it’s all been about behind the scenes work on building an i20 capable of taking on the rally world and gathering a team that can make it a success.

But with the first official outing for the i20 due in January 2014 in Monte Carlo, Hyundai has finally taken their i20 WRC out in the world to give it some proper testing outside the workshop,

Hyundai have been playing on a private testing ground to check out the i20′s systems, followed by a comprehensive testing session to work on different setups and gather data, with a major focus on the i20′s 1.6 litre turbo which, until now, hadn’t been run in the car outside Hyundai’s R&D.

Hyundai say all went well over the 55okm of testing across three days, a prelude to a full programme of testing in the coming months as Hyundai get closer to their official debut.

Team boss, Michel Nandan, said:

We have an intensive testing schedule for the rest of 2013 which will take us to different venues across Europe, to evaluate the i20 WRC in different conditions and on different terrains which reflect the variety of circumstances we will encounter in the World Rally Championship next year. We are not disclosing our specific test venues or the names of the various drivers we will have but we will ensure that every aspect of the car’s performance is put to the test and thoroughly evaluated without leaving anything to chance.

Let’s hope all this effort yields results for Hyundai and spills across in to a bit of motorsport fairy dust for Hyundai’s production cars – and in to some properly quick Hyundai’s too.

Anything close to the 300bhp and 4WD of the i20 WRC would do.

By Cars UK