► Lancia confirms Rally2 project
► Revives the legendary Integrale name
► Could herald a factory team WRC effort
Lancia has confirmed that it is working on a new Rally2-spec version of the Ypsilon supermini, opening the possibility of the storied Italian brand’s return to top-level World Rally Championship competition. With it, Lancia is also reviving the Integrale name.
The existence of the Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale was leaked on YouTube earlier in September when a spectator uploaded footage of a development car being tested in France. It follows the Ypsilon Rally4 HF that made its competition debut during the 2025 season and has already achieved a class win in the European Rally Championship’s junior division.
Lancia is one of the most legendary names in rallying history and it remains the most successful – despite not fielding a factory team in more than 30 years – winning 15 manufacturers’ titles in the World Rally Championship, five of them with various iterations of the Delta Integrale.
Announcing the Ypsilon Rally2, Lancia said: “The New Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale makes its debut, bringing the legendary spirit of Lancia’s rally victories into today’s motorsport. And this is just the beginning.”
Rally2 is the fourth tier of the FIA’s current rally specification ‘pyramid,’ which is based on the car’s power-to-weight ratio. Rally1 cars competing in the top class of the WRC have a ratio of 3.1 kilos-per-horsepower, Rally2 is pegged at 4.2kg/hp. All the cars have a 280-290bhp turbo engine of no more than 1.6-litres, four-wheel drive and a sequential gearbox.
According to Dirtfish.com, the Lancia test car is actually an old Citroen C3 Rally2 with Ypsilon body panels. That’s a good starting point as the Citroen has been enormously successful, taking nearly 600 rally wins. However, the finished Ypsilon Rally2 will have to be based on a production-spec Ypsilon bodyshell.
Curiously, and despite the immense popularity of the class, there are currently only two other Rally2-grade cars available to buy new – the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 and Toyota GR Yaris Rally2.
Will Lancia return to the WRC?
The Ypsilon Rally2 is expected to achieve homologation ahead of the 2026 season, but it looks like the car will only be campaigned by privateers. Still, we may well see some in the World Championship’s WRC2 class.
But a Lancia factory team return? Well, that’s possible in 2027 when new regulations will allow Rally2 machinery to contest the top-level WRC27 class; Lancia is staying tight-lipped – for now. If you fancy a go yourself, expect the Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale to set you back around €250,000 plus taxes and (enormous) running costs.
Graham King is a Senior Staff Writer on the Bauer Automotive Digital Hub, working across CAR and Parkers
By Graham King
Senior Staff Writer for Parkers. Car obsessive, magazine and brochure collector, trivia mine.
