The new FIA WRC-car concept 2017

[Mirek]

1) The 1,6T format on the basis that it is production relevant is utter BS. Why should the engine be relevant when nothing of the rest of the car is? Have You ever seen the road car basis of a modern rallycar (read: Polo, DS3, Fiesta etc) with 4WD, adjustable McPherson coilovers on each end with HUGE travel, advanced aerodynamics, etc?

Simply because of marketing. 95% of buyers don't have a clue about any technical stuff and they do believe the marketing phrases. Times have changed and nowadays people aren't interested in how stuff works. You need to get away from looking on things by a sight of a rally geek. Guys like You make tiny percentage of car buyers. To understand why the car makers want what they want You need to look on things from their point of view. Fact is that it is the car makers and always will be who have the biggest word in this game. This will not change because You or me want something else.

A WRC engine serves two purposes, and two only:
1) Propulsion (in generous amounts, i.e. 500hp+)
2) A sound that makes young boys scream in excitement, babys cry, and women throw their nickers at the cars. Its should be loud and sexy. (110db and high revs)

There is a valid law which sets the noise and pollution limits for the simple reason that rallying takes place on public roads. And it's not about road sections. The stages pass through villages and towns as well. Especially in the central Europe it is impossible to make the stage without going through a populated areas. As such rallying is fully dependent on tollerance of the non-rally majority. I can imagine You don't face problems with that in Norway but please take into account that it is very very real problem in heavily populated European mainland. It's nothing special when the stage is not allowed to pass somewhere because some locals don't want that. They have various reasons. They think it's noisy, dangerous, they don't like having spectators in front of their house, don't want the road to be closed or whatever. To play on someone else's playground You need to find compromise. There's no other way.

There have been great sounding NA engines, Turbod engines, Compressors engines, turbod AND compressord engines, fours, fives, sixes and eights, Vs, longditudals, and boxers.
The common referrers are high revs (i.e. cut out the restrictors, or at least make them big) and a generous sound system (not sound deadening system).

Yes, of course but what have You tried to say by that?

There is no problem making an engine/exhaust that has a road mode (for homologation) and a stage mode.

As I already said. It's not about road sections. Stages pass through populated areas as well. You can't expect little babies, elderly women or nature-lowing people to understand why rally needs more noise exactly in front of their house on Sunday morning. It's similar like when a techno party comes to Your place. It's something You won't like and understand and it will most likely make You mad. Take into account that there is a lot of poeple who think about rallying in the same way.