Top 10: The car makes most likely to enter the WRC
28th August 2010By Anthony Peacock
There’s been a flurry of activity on the manufacturer front recently, with car makers sniffing around the World Rally Championship like tigers at feeding time. Here’s a list of 10 constructors that might take the plunge, from dead certainties to strong speculation…
MINI: This one is in the bag, and that’s a reason for everybody currently involved to be cheerful. Work on the MINI Countryman WRC is well advanced and the car will hit the stages for the first time next year, probably on Rally d’Italia-Sardinia in May.
Volkswagen: For many it’s not a question of if Volkswagen comes in, but when. The fact that VW motorsport chief, Kris Nissen, is so open in talking about it speaks volumes. Volkswagen is unlikely to arrive until 2013: but will it be with a Polo, a Golf or a Scirocco? According to Nissen, any of the above is possible.
Toyota: Apparently, the decision has already been taken internally for Toyota to come back. Now the board just needs to rubber stamp it. It’s not entirely impossible that the Japanese giant could join as early as next year, either with a Yaris or an Auris.
Saab: Our sources tell us that the Dutch-owned company is serious about rebuilding its heritage, and as such rallying represents the perfect solution. The company has a new compact hatchback in the pipeline, the 9-2, which would make an awesome rally challenger.
Abarth: The Italian company’s history in rallying needs no introduction, and had they stuck to the original plan drawn up at the end of 2005, they would have been in the top flight of the sport already with a Punto WRC. But while times change, the passion from Turin has never gone away.
Suzuki: When the company quit the sport at the end of 2008 with the unloved SX4 WRC, it insisted that it still had unfinished business to settle. Suzuki is still keeping a close eye on the WRC, and if it feels that the regulations are now more cost-effective, then who knows what might happen?
Proton: Many people forget that Proton already has one world championship win behind it, thanks to Karamjit Singh’s 2002 Production Car title with the Wira. Since then, the Malaysian firm has been developing a promising Super 2000 challenger, with a firm eye on the bigger picture.
Skoda: It’s unlikely that Skoda would ever be allowed to compete with Volkswagen, but there’s a strong case for letting the Czechs have their day: not least of which is the fact that they already have a highly-successful factory rally team that is dominating the IRC.
Subaru: Subaru withdrew at the end of 2008 because they were dissatisfied with their results and financial position, rather than the sport itself. Since then, the ‘Ferrari of rallying’ has constantly been linked with a return, now that the regulations have undergone a radical shake-up.
Hyundai: Korean car giant made plenty of noises in 2006 about a WRC return and even released visuals of its planned Accent replacement. Nothing has been said since.
