WRC rally cars going hybrid in 2022

The message is clear: go hybrid, or go home.

Automakers who want to dominate the World Rally Championship (WRC) will need to go hybrid starting in 2022. The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) announced the regulations that will come into effect at the beginning of the 2022 season will force teams to compete with gasoline-electric race cars.

The message is clear: go hybrid, or go home. While full technical specifications haven't been released yet, the FIA issued a statement to explain rally cars will need to run exclusively on electricity when they're competing in cities. These stages will become eerily quiet. The hybrid system will work alongside the gasoline-powered engine on ice, gravel, dirt, or any terrain outside of urban areas, so the aural thrill of watching a WRC event won't be completely lost.

Manufacturers won't be able to fully use hybrid technology to their advantage right away. To keep costs in check, every car will be fitted with the exact same hardware and software for three years after the next set of regulations comes into effect. Teams will be allowed to race using components designed in-house starting in 2025; we expect that's when the real competition will begin.

The hybrids built to compete in WRC will continue to look like production models. Manufacturers will have the option of using a production body, or to build one from scratch while retaining key visual elements, like headlights, that make the racer instantly recognizable. Interestingly, the FIA will give manufacturers the option of scaling down a design to comply with the size regulations. For example, Chevrolet could theoretically build a Toyota Yaris-sized Suburban for WRC events.

There's no word on how much more expensive a hybrid rally car will be to develop and build than one that runs solely on gasoline, and we don't know how much weight the components will add. Automakers haven't publicly reacted to the FIA's announcement yet; time will tell whether the hybrid regulations attract new manufacturers and/or drive away the few remaining ones. As of 2019, only Toyota, Hyundai, Ford, and Citroën are left in WRC, and the two latter brands reduced their commitment to the series before the start of the season.