Here is the thing: the World Motor Council has just signed off on a massive shake-up for the World Rally Championship starting in 2027, and as Motorsport.com Italia reports, the changes touch nearly every corner of the sport. We are looking at an entirely new technical cycle, a restructured top flight, and even a brand new entry point at the base of the pyramid.
The headliner of this regulatory shift is the newly established Rally1 category. This premier class will house both the brand-new WRC27 machines and what the governing body is calling WRC Kit Cars. In plain terms, these Kit Cars are existing Rally2 chassis fitted with an updated, homologated aero kit featuring a new front fender, bumper, and a rear aerodynamic device. Both machinery types will fight directly against each other on the stages in the headline category.
Under the hood, both the new Rally1 cars and the WRC Kit Cars will see their turbo restrictor diameter bump up from 32 to 33 mm, delivering a handy little power boost for the premier field. The FIA is also building in regulatory flexibility for the 2027 and 2028 seasons, allowing them to step in with technical or sporting adjustments if needed to keep performance properly balanced between the various cars sharing the top class.
ampionship structures are getting a heavy redesign too. The old Manufacturers' Championship is out, replaced by a Constructors' Championship that throws automotive manufacturers and independent preparers into the exact same standings. To chase that title, brands have to enter every single round of the calendar. Alongside that, a WRC Teams' Championship arrives for 2027, running across 7 designated events—including a mandatory flyaway outside Europe and the season finale as a strict requirement for contenders. Both the constructors' and teams' crowns are strictly limited to Rally1 machinery.
Further down the ladder, categories like WRC2, WRC3, and the WRC Masters Cup remain untouched, but the FIA is officially sliding the brand-new Rally6 category right into the bottom of the pyramid. Derived heavily from the FFSA's FR6 regulations in France, this class is designed explicitly to slash costs for drivers running on tight budgets.
These little front-wheel-drive machines will be built on four-seat production models, carrying a price tag estimated between 35,000 and 47,000 euros. Teams can drop in either a stock 1.6-litre turbo engine or a 2.0-litre naturally aspirated motor, locked to a strict 7.5 kg/HP power-to-weight ratio—meaning roughly 140 horsepower for a 1,050 kg car. To keep purchase and running costs firmly on the floor, the rules mandate standard production parts like brakes and tires, conventional H-pattern gearboxes, and non-adjustable competition dampers, all while keeping safety standards matching Rally5-Kit levels.
