A few months ago we talked about Lancia and its plans to return to rallies, trying to calm the understandable expectations of fans of the motorsport category, defining them as a “return” and explaining why the projects of the brand which is part of the Stellantis Group were all linked to marketing rather than a real commitment to motorsport.
Today the confirmation came from Lancia itself. The Turin company has formalized the creation of a car that will have the appearance of a Ypsilon – the new car that will be placed on the market in a few months – based on Rally4 specifications.
Lancia’s press release reads as follows: “From today the hearts of many fans and rally enthusiasts will beat again. Lancia has in fact decided to return to the world of rallies, starting from the basics of the competition, from Rally 4, the beating heart of rallies: a category that represents pure passion, featuring young drivers who begin their careers with passion to become the professionals of tomorrow, in perfect Lancia style, characterized by ambition, pragmatism and humility, in line with the mission and DNA. of the brand”.
Lancia Ypsilon Rally 4 HF
Photo by: Lancia
“Lancia is still the most successful brand of all time in the world of rallying, with 15 World Rally Championships, three World Endurance Manufacturers’ Championships, one 1000 Miglia, two Targa Florios and one Carrera Panamericano.”
“Lancia Ypsilon Rally 4 HF is powered by a 1.2-litre turbocharged 3-cylinder engine with 4 valves per cylinder (12 valves in total) which develops 212 HP. Equipped with front-wheel drive with 5-speed mechanical transmission and mechanical self-locking differential, the model high performance presents itself as an ideal solution for the enjoyment of all rally enthusiasts, but also as a serious candidate for drivers who aspire to victory in the R4 category and in two-wheel drive championships”.
We told you about the intention to create a Rally4 for reasons of economic convenience and so it will be. It is no coincidence that the base of the Ypsilon rally is the same as the Peugeot 208 Rally4, presented 4 years ago now, a few weeks before the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic (not counting the Opel Corsa made on the same base).
A cost-saving choice, because it will be enough to create a bodywork that resembles that of the new Ypsilon to be able to give riders and people a return which, in fact, is not a return.
The move made by Lancia – or rather, by the top management of Stellantis – follows what has already been done in the past with Alfa Romeo, which rebranded what is now Sauber and which will become Audi in Formula 1 from 2026. The same goes for Maserati, which entered Formula E by purchasing the Venturi team from the 2022-2023 season. Many names and brands in plain sight, but on a technical level these are already existing and underway projects that welcome prestigious brands, without however having important technological returns.
Minimum expense, maximum return. This seems to be the objective and pursuing the path already traced with Alfa Romeo and Maserati, at this point, must be sufficiently profitable.
Lancia Ypsilon Rally 4 HF
Photo by: Lancia
Furthermore, the hope of those who continued to talk about Lancia being involved in the creation of a Rally2 is declining. Of course, even in this case the replacement of the bodywork from the base of the Citroen C3 which is achieving good results in the WRC2, but also in the Italian Absolute Rally Championship with Andrea Crugnola and Pietro Elia Ometto could prove to be a good idea, yet the category is at a crossroads and both the roads you can take seem to be closed-end.
Most of the cars that race with those specifications are at the end of their life both in terms of engines (Skoda, Hyundai) and road model segment. Furthermore, creating a racing team from scratch would involve such an expense that, to date, Lancia does not seem to want to take on.
Finally, another clue that suggests how important marketing is in this operation lies in Lancia’s use of certain names and can also be found in the press release issued this afternoon.
Lancia Ypsilon Rally 4 HF
Photo by: Lancia
“On the Lancia Ypsilon Rally 4, in addition to the HF logo, the “LANCIA CORSE HF” logo will also return to the foreground, the legendary signature of the racing cars”.
“The Lancia brand was inspired by the historic logo, now reinterpreted in a contemporary key to look to the future, consistently with the brand’s renaissance plan.
The lettering of the word CORSE is now expressed with a font created specifically”.
“The graphics of the logo, with an oblique character, want to express the concept of speed, typical of the racing world, creating a stylistic coherence with the shape of the HF logo. Even the colours, black and white, reflect the original ones. The logo can be used both in a horizontal and vertical declination”.
In short, there are many references to the past, for a future that continues to be a return… no.
Lancia Ypsilon Rally 4 HF
Photo by: Lancia
#Lancia #announces #Ypsilon #Rally4 #Lots #marketing #substance
