If any automaker’s synonymous with rallying, it’s Lancia. The most winning World Rally Championship manufacturer of all time has ten titles to its name, but after 1992, it decided to hang up its hat. Well, as part of revitalization efforts, the brand is back on the dirt. We’ve seen the cheap and cheerful Rally6-spec Ypsilon HF Racing, we’ve seen the Rally4-spec Ypsilon Rally4 HF, and now Lancia’s one step closer to playing in the big league again with the bonkers Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale.
For those not familiar with the WRC’s current support series structure, Group Rally2 replaced the Group R5 class of cars in 2019, and WRC2 is the successor to the old Super 2000 World Rally Championship. In short, it’s as close as you can get to the top level of rally, like a mud-and-gravel equivalent of NASCAR’s Xfinity Series, or Formula 2. With 1.6-liter turbocharged engines, a power-to-weight ratio of 4.2 kilograms per horsepower, and four-wheel-drive, these are the quickest rally cars that privateers can buy.
As such, it shouldn’t be surprising that the Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale looks a whole lot more steroidal than its more attainable siblings. The first things on the car that hit your eyeballs are the absolutely enormous flares, tapering from the front to form horizontal surfaces and clearly designed for function. There’s something sheer and brutal about them that absolutely works, especially in harmony with the massive rear wing.
Maybe it’s just me, but there’s something cool about wing stanchions that come off the hatch, placing the airfoil higher than the trailing edge of the roofline. There’s also something cool about mesh hood vents, functional roof scoops, and rigid plastic windows with little sliders in them. It’s all serious race car stuff, so it’s not surprising that this thing sports the Integrale name. The old Delta Integrale was one of the most successful rally cars of all time, with variants clinching the championship from 1988 to 1992 consecutively.
So, why a Rally2 car? Well, I have a hunch. The top category of the World Rally Championship is about to undergo a seismic shift for 2027. New regulations aimed at bringing down the cost of top-level rallying mean future WRC cars will feature a €345,000 cost cap, top out at around 300 horsepower, and, crucially, be competitive on paper with Rally2 cars to the point where the junior series cars will move up to the big show. If Lancia launches the Ypsilon HF Integrale in WRC2 next year, that gives the factory team and privateers a season to figure things out in relative obscurity compared to Rally1 before going for the top-level crown.
Anyway, we are so freakin’ back. Lancia has a soon-to-be top-level-eligible rally car for the first time in more than 30 years and isn’t afraid to use it. It looks sweet, it’s got huge flares, and it has “Integrale” in its name. While we don’t know exactly when Lancia’s latest rally car will make its competition debut, I’ll have my eyes glued to the calendar.
Top graphic image: Lancia
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The post Lancia’s Fastest Rally Car Brings Back The Integrale Name And Could Be Headed To The Big League appeared first on The Autopian.
