Hyundai will have to wait another year for the introduction of its new i20 World Rally Championship car - a production issue has delayed the homologation of the new model, which means the old i20 will have to keep on keeping on for another while. Hyundai had been hoping that the new car would be ready for the second half of this year.
Not all is lost though. Following a major test session, Hyundai thinks that there might still be some fight in the old i20's bones. Team Principal Michel Nandan commented: "We had a very detailed week of testing planned in Spain recently, as we put an upgraded version of our New Generation i20 WRC through its paces in the Almeria region. Kevin and Thierry worked on engine and chassis development, as well as altitude tests, which will help us to further develop the car as we move through 2015. We had hoped to introduce the new car later this season but unfortunately an issue with the homologation schedule - related to production of the three-door road version - will delay our programme. We have therefore opted to continue focus on the five-door version of the New Generation i20 WRC which will compete at Rallye Monte-Carlo next year. This revised schedule gives us extra time to ensure the car is where we want it to be performance-wise. At the same time, the current Hyundai i20 WRC will undergo a number of important updates which we hope will keep us in the fight for podiums this season."