The upgraded i20 N has been unveiled sporting a new livery design featuring the South Korean manufacturer’s familiar sky blue and orange factory colours.
Hyundai has elected to use homologation jokers to develop its i20N in the off- season, focussing on weight saving to enhance its performance and finding solutions to reliability issues. The team has also announced a new partnership with renowned motorcycle exhaust manufacturer Akrapovic to further develop its exhaust and thermal management systems.
Last season, Hyundai scored two victories compared to nine wins secured by champion Toyota. In addition to its upgraded i20 N, Hyundai has assembled an experienced driver line-up as it bids to claim a maiden drivers’ title and end Toyota’s run of three consecutive manufacturers’ crowns.
Ott Tanak has rejoined the team following a challenging 2023 campaign with M-Sport. The 2019 world champion will join Thierry Neuville in piloting the squad’s two full-time entries, while veteran Dani Sordo, Esapekka Lappi and new signing Andreas Mikkelsen will share the third car across the 13 rounds.
Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul believes his team has all the “right pieces” for success this year and for the future.
“This year, we want to target more frequent wins, which we hope to achieve with our refreshed driver line-up and improved Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid,” said Abiteboul.
“Also, given the nature of the 2024 season, we believe we can fight for the drivers’ title. Ott had unfinished business with the team, and once we started talking, we realised there was a mutual interest to finish it.
“Alongside Thierry, we have two drivers capable of claiming the crown. In our third car, we wanted to reward crews that we felt deserved the opportunity, as all three have shown loyalty to the team as well as impressive pace and ability over the past years.
“Bringing in talent in a number of areas, such as new engineers, mechanics, weather and sporting personnel, also strengthens the overall team as we look to push forward this year.
“Success in 2024 will be our focus and we are confident that we have the right pieces in place for this to be a reality. In addition, we also have a plan that looks forward into 2025 and 2026 that we intend to execute.”
Hyundai is the last WRC team to unveil its 2024 car following last week’s launch by M-Sport-Ford and Toyota’s reveal of its 2024 GR Yaris in December last year.
The new season begins with the annual visit to Monte Carlo from 25-28 January which will see Neuville, Tanak and Mikkelsen tackle the famous asphalt roads. The trio successfully completed pre-event tests last week.
