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Hyundai is continuing i20 N Rally2 development, but its 2027 WRC direction and any WRC2 customer entries remain unconfirmed. The FIA’s Rally2-WRC-Kit route is a separate matter, covering eligibility in the new top category.
Hyundai’s Rally2 programme is moving forward, but the shape of its 2027 World Rally Championship campaign remains undecided in the latest direct reporting. A claim that two customer teams will take Hyundai i20 N Rally2 cars into WRC2 has circulated, yet ViPeople could not find a Hyundai announcement, a named team statement or an entry document confirming that plan as of 25 September 2026.
The distinction matters because several connected stories are being discussed at once: a Rally2 car evolution, Hyundai’s factory WRC future, a possible customer-run WRC2 campaign and the FIA’s new top-category rules. Each has a different status. The development work is real. The 2027 team structure remains unconfirmed.
Motorsport.com reported on 10 September that Hyundai Motorsport customer-racing director Andrew Wheatley had not yet made the call on the company’s WRC future. The report described a decision still under consideration, with options that included continuing at the top level, placing greater emphasis on Rally2 or supporting a customer operation. It did not name two WRC2 teams or announce a completed entry plan.
That is the strongest recent direct account available for the question at the centre of this story. It gives a clear reason to keep the two-team claim in the conditional tense. A customer programme can involve cars being sold, technical assistance being offered or a factory-supported entry. Those arrangements are different in cost, staffing and sporting commitment, so the phrase “two teams” needs a named structure behind it before it can be reported as settled.
Hyundai’s official customer-racing programme lists the i20 N Rally2 for private teams and drivers. DirtFish reported in early September that an evolution of the car was being developed, with work aimed at completing the programme around the end of 2026. The reports point to continuing engineering activity. They do not establish the final specification, homologation date, customer allocation or championship entry list for 2027.
That work has a practical purpose. Rally2 teams need a car that can be prepared and repaired by customer operations, supported with parts and technical information, and adapted to very different surfaces. A revised package can give a manufacturer a route to keep competing products in circulation while controlling the people and budget committed to a full factory campaign. Until Hyundai publishes details, the scale of the update and the support model remain open questions.
The current i20 N Rally2 gives private entrants a known platform. Any 2027 evolution will need to make its case through measurable gains, serviceability and a viable cost for teams. The most useful confirmation will therefore include more than a new badge or a test photograph: teams will want the technical specification, delivery schedule, parts plan and the level of engineering support that comes with each car.
Hyundai’s 2026 factory campaign continues with the i20 N Rally1. Recent WRC rounds have shown the car in the hands of Thierry Neuville, Adrien Fourmaux and the team’s other Rally1 crews, while the manufacturer weighs what it wants its programme to look like under the 2027 regulations. The Rally1 images here come from recent championship events and show the current factory car in competition.
The current season is useful context, though it does not answer the 2027 question by itself. A manufacturer can maintain a top-class effort, expand customer racing or alter the balance between the two. Each option calls for a different investment and a different technical plan. Hyundai has not publicly confirmed which route it will take.
The 2027 regulations add another layer. The FIA has approved a pathway that allows eligible Rally2 cars fitted with a Rally2-WRC-Kit to compete in the new top WRC category alongside WRC27 cars during 2027 and 2028, subject to the rule’s homologation and constructor-registration conditions. That provision concerns eligibility in the championship’s top class.
WRC2 remains a separate championship category. A Hyundai customer entering WRC2 would need a car, an eligible team and a championship entry. A Rally2-WRC-Kit route into the top category is a different sporting and technical choice. The rule has prompted discussion about how manufacturers might use existing Rally2 platforms, yet it cannot be treated as proof that Hyundai has selected two WRC2 teams.
This is why apparently similar headlines can describe different plans. One story may concern a factory Rally1 exit, another a Rally2 evolution, and another the possibility of a customer team using a kit in the new top class. Those moves could overlap, but each needs its own confirmation. So far, the public record supports ongoing Rally2 development and an unresolved decision on Hyundai’s WRC future.
A formal Hyundai Motorsport announcement would be the clearest signal. Named customer teams, a confirmed driver line-up, a car-delivery schedule, technical-support details and an appearance on an official entry list would establish the programme’s size and scope. FIA homologation material would help define which specification is eligible and how it relates to the new rules.
Until those details appear, the accurate update is measured: Hyundai is developing its i20 N Rally2, while the company’s 2027 WRC direction and any two-team WRC2 plan remain unconfirmed. ViPeople will update this report when Hyundai or a named entrant publishes verifiable programme details.
