2022 WRC News & Rumours

[dimviii]

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC Challenge ProgramThree new drivers chosen to pursue their WRC dreams

https://toyotagazooracing.com/challe.../2022/0207-01/

[wyler]

take it with more than a pinch of salt, but in italy rumors are growing about a wrc comeback of stellantis with lancia brand.
they ll launch a completely ev delta in 2026, and are supposed to look very closely to the new 2025 regulation to join an elctric wrc with it.

tbh, seems very unlikely to me, first time i read of the delta story, but rumors about lancia comeback with an hybrid are getting loud.

[skarderud]

take it with more than a pinch of salt, but in italy rumors are growing about a wrc comeback of stellantis with lancia brand.
they ll launch a completely ev delta in 2026, and are supposed to look very closely to the new 2025 regulation to join an elctric wrc with it.

tbh, seems very unlikely to me, first time i read of the delta story, but rumors about lancia comeback with an hybrid are getting loud.

I also heard about this, that Stellantis is looking to a WRC-project with one of the brands.
Also østberg hinted about something was under disqussion in the Stellantis group.
But that can be other brands to.

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[WRCStan]

in italy rumors are growing about a wrc comeback of stellantis with lancia brand.

Sounds like whoever started this rumour may think Lancia are relevant outside Italy.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Sounds like whoever started this rumour may think Lancia are relevant outside Italy.

If they want to make it relevant again its history points to using the WRC. The electric 'Delta Integrale' coming to WRX got a lot of attention.

[WRCStan]

If they want to make it relevant again its history points to using the WRC. The electric 'Delta Integrale' coming to WRX got a lot of attention.

I found a link - https://www.motor1.com/news/546508/l...outside-italy/

"The brand’s new CEO wants to reposition Lancia as a near-premium automaker aimed at customers with an average age of 55 with at least one child still at home", "will target potential customers and owners of brands such as Tesla, Volvo, and Mercedes-Benz’s EQ division"

I don't buy it, any of this.

[focus206]

Sounds like whoever started this rumour may think Lancia are relevant outside Italy.

You seem to think Lancia is relevant IN Italy. Lancia only makes the Ypsilon in Italy and it's not even popular. The relevance in Italy is the same as it is for other countries and their motorsport fans: the past glory of Delta, Rally 037, Stratos...

[Jarek Z]

Lancia, owned by Fiat since 1969, had been pronounced dead by then-FCA supremo Sergio Marchionne back in 2014.
The death sentence, pronounced by the manager in his characteristically blunt language, seemingly left no doubts:

“We realized the Lancia brand has no appeal outside of Italy. It has no heritage neither in Europe nor in the U.S.”

source: https://medium.com/roadster-life/har...l-b20fbabd3c4d

[wyler]

You seem to think Lancia is relevant IN Italy. Lancia only makes the Ypsilon in Italy and it's not even popular. The relevance in Italy is the same as it is for other countries and their motorsport fans: the past glory of Delta, Rally 037, Stratos...

they are reported to launch new line(s) of vehicles. delta ev in 2025 (most probably also a hy version before) and new ypsilon hy in 2024. private projects are revamping the delta (for rx) the stratos and the 037 (showed on montecarlo)

stellantis has all the main motorsport championships covered but wrc, sure they have a lot of brands so maybe can be another one, but still is strongly rumored of a comeback. surely a comeback in wrc with a historic rally brand can be interesting (also to launch the new brand cars) and worthy from pr side (remember the hype on the rx delta and for the r4 kit audi i.e.)

plus, the big boss is competing in the historic rally in a stratos, so maybe the brand choice can also be a bit "emotional"

still the most interesting thing -if real- is that 2manus/3brands (lancia opel and renault) are looking at wrc from 2025.

[wyler]

Lancia, owned by Fiat since 1969, had been pronounced dead by then-FCA supremo Sergio Marchionne back in 2014.
The death sentence, pronounced by the manager in his characteristically blunt language, seemingly left no doubts:

“We realized the Lancia brand has no appeal outside of Italy. It has no heritage neither in Europe nor in the U.S.”

source: https://medium.com/roadster-life/har...l-b20fbabd3c4d

true, but the supremo is now dead, and the new boss is running ss in a stratos, so...