Mould Breaker - Hyundai i20 WRC

The i20 WRC is Hyundai’s first proper attempt at participating in a top-tier motorsport class, although they did participate in a clubman series with the Accent. The i20 WRC was unveiled to the world in 2012, with a concept shown in 2013, after both concepts the car debuted in the 2014 Rallye de Montecarlo, with Dani Sordo (SPN), Thierry Neuville (BLG), Juho Hänninen (FNL) and Chris Atkinson (AUS) given the job to drive the new project.

The car was powered by a 1.6 liter turbocharged, direct injection inline four unit, tuned by Hyundai Motorsport, producing 295 hp @ 6000 RPM and 295 lb-ft (400 Newton meters) of torque @ 5000 RPM. All of this power is coupled to a 6 speed sequential transmission with a twin disc ceramic clutch, sending power to all four wheels with a front and rear mechanical differential. This powerplant is good to propel the dinky i20 to 62mph in “Less than four seconds”, with a top speed of over 139mph.

Of course, no car is complete with a good set of brakes, and so, stopping power is provided by slotted Brembo discs, with a 355mm diameter for gravel and dirt, and a smaller 300mm disc for tarmac. The brakes are kept cool by air cooled calipers, with a four piston system getting the calipers and discs together.
Rubber is provided by Michelin, utilizing Sport Pilots for tarmac, A41 for iced tarmac or snow/ice, X-Ice North for terrains with dirt and snow or ice and Latitude Cross neumatics for dirt roads.
Good handling is achieved thanks to a hydraulically assisted steering rack with pinions, and suspension is in charge of McPherson axis with adjustable coilovers in the front and back of the car.

The cars’ body panels are made out of reinforced steel and a carbon composite, with a multipoint reinforced roll cage. All of this comes together to form a 153in long car and a 71in wide car, with a 61in space between the left and right wheels. Fuel tank is an 80l (17.5 imperial gallon), helping raise the car’s kerb weight to a minimum of 2645.54 lb, and 2998,2lb with driver and codriver inside of the car.

At first, as with almost every car, the small and new contender seemed to have an Ill-looking fate, with debut drivers Neuville and Sordo not being able to finish the first day of racing. Neuville sled out of the track on a fast right hander and hit a light pole with the back of his car, leaving him out of the race. For Spaniard Sordo, things were going perfectly, climbing to third place on the first day, until an alternator failure forced him to abandon the race.

This bad luck was obviously not liked by both drivers and team members, and so they expected luck to change in the upcoming Swedish rally. Unfortunately, both Neuville and Hänninen crashed in the same corner, but luckily they were able to get back on track and finish 28th and 19th respectively. These results helped Hyundai score its first points in the constructors’ championship. After the Swedish race was over, the team headed over to the Spanish city of Almería, place in which they began some testing sessions with Chris Atkinson in preparation for the following races in Mexico and Portugal.
The brand’s luck changed for the race in Mexico, with both drivers getting the first points for the drivers’ championship, with Atkinson finishing 7th and Neuville giving the brand the first podium with a 3rd position. Below, a chart showing Hyundai’s results in the 2014 season.

In conclusion, the 2014 season did for a good exhibition of the Korean brands’ capacity, a capacity that they weren’t able to show with the Accent back to the 2000-2003 era in which the Accent raced, not being able to get a single podium, pole position or scratch (name given to the fastest time in a sector in Rally) on any of the 52 races it competed in.

Until then, Sir GT-R, out.