Lancia will celebrate its comeback in the World Rally Championship in 2026: With the new Ypsilon Rally2 HF, the iconic brand will return to WRC2.
Italian car manufacturer Lancia has officially announced its return to the World Rally Championship (WRC) next year. Lancia will compete in the WRC2 category with the new Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale.
The return was announced in a video posted on social media, accompanied by a short statement. In it, Lancia confirmed that the newly developed Rally2 car will make its debut at the 2026 season opener in Monte Carlo.
The first videos of the Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale appeared last month, showing the car being tested on asphalt in France. Shortly afterwards, Lancia published official images and another statement:
Is Lancia taking over Citroën’s Rally2 program?
“The new Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale is making its debut, bringing the legendary spirit of Lancia’s rally victories to today’s motorsport – and this is just the beginning.”
Lancia enters the race. Welcome to WRC2.
The countdown has started.
First stop: WRC2 Monte Carlo, January 2026.
Are you ready?Lancia LanciaIsBack Rally2HFIntegrale WRC2 @OfficialWRC @ FIAERC @fia pic.twitter.com/tCE5aNSFKW— Lancia (@lancia_official) October 18, 2025
Details of the planned WRC2 program, including the driver lineup for 2026, have not yet been announced. However, observers expect that Lancia could take over Citroën’s factory-supported Rally2 involvement within the Stellantis Group.
Citroën currently supports the PH Sport team, which fields C3 Rally2 cars in WRC2 with brothers Yohan and Leo Rossel. However, Citroën is set to shift its focus to Formula E from next year after Maserati confirmed its withdrawal from the electric series.
The Rossel brothers were also involved in the development program for the Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale as test drivers.
From 2027, it will be possible to compete in the top class of the WRC.
With the confirmed WRC2 project, Lancia is continuing its gradual return to rallying.
The manufacturer, which won a total of ten world championship titles in the manufacturers’ standings between 1974 and 1992, initially presented the two-wheel-drive Ypsilon Rally4 in 2023. This model will be used in the European Rally Championship and in Lancia’s own Rally Trophy Cup.
In the long term, Lancia is apparently planning a return to the top class of the World Rally Championship. Under the new technical regulations from 2027, the so-called WRC27 cars will compete with a cost limit of €345,000 and around 300 hp. These cars will be based on a space frame and use components from the Rally2 category. From 2027, the current Rally2 cars will compete alongside the new WRC27 vehicles in a unified top class.
