◾Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC revealed in special launch event for media at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Italy

◾Hyundai Motorsport drivers Thierry Neuville, Hayden Paddon and Dani Sordo will contest all 13 rounds of the 2017 Championship with the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC

December 1, 2016 – Hyundai Motorsport will compete in the 2017 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) with a brand new challenger, the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC. The car, which has been designed to meet WRC's raft of new technical regulations, was unveiled during an exclusive media event today at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Italy.

For Hyundai Motorsport, the three-door i20 Coupe WRC represents the team's third new car since its debut in the Championship back in 2014 – following the Hyundai i20 WRC (2014-15) and the New Generation i20 WRC (2016). Entering its fourth WRC season, the team hopes to build on a positive period of growth in recent years as it embarks on a new era.

With the new car, the team hopes to build on its most successful season to date, in which it secured two victories and an additional ten podium finishes. Hyundai Motorsport also second place overall in the Manufacturers Championship in the 2016 season.

Team Principal Michel Nandan said: 'We are heading into a new era for the sport with the biggest change to the regulations for some time. It's a great new technical challenge and one that we have tackled with enthusiasm. It's an opportunity to put into practice everything we have learned and experienced in the past three seasons. All teams are starting from scratch so we are on equal footing. Having finished in a fighting second in 2016, we want to demonstrate our ability to fight for the Championship next season – and we are confident the i20 Coupe WRC will help us do just that.'

There will be an unchanged driver line-up for 2017, which will offer the team important stability with the introduction of a new car. Thierry Neuville, Hayden Paddon and Dani Sordo will contest all rounds of the Championship.

As manufacturers will be able to field up to three cars in each round, Hyundai Motorsport's three drivers will run under a unified banner in 2017: the Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team.

Established on 19 December 2012, Hyundai Motorsport GmbH is responsible for Hyundai's global motorsport activities and primarily for its World Rally Championship programme. Based in Alzenau on the outskirts of Frankfurt in Germany, the company embarked on its debut season in the FIA World Rally Championship in 2014 with a bespoke team of skilled staff and a brand new car, the Hyundai i20 WRC. The team made a strong impression in its first year claiming podium results in Mexico and Poland, as well as a memorable 1-2 in Germany. In its second season, the team was involved in a closely fought battle for second place in the Manufacturers' Championship, adding more podiums and stage wins to its tally. For its third year in WRC, Hyundai Motorsport has developed a brand new car, the New Generation i20 WRC, which made its rally debut with a podium finish in Rallye Monte-Carlo in January 2016. The team registered its first win with the new car in Rally Argentina, the fourth round of the season.

About Hyundai Motor

Established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Company is committed to becoming a lifetime partner in automobiles and beyond. The company leads the Hyundai Motor Group, an innovative business structure capable of circulating resources from molten iron to finished cars. Hyundai Motor has eight manufacturing bases and seven design & technical centres worldwide and in 2015 sold 4.96 million vehicles globally. With more than 110,000 employees worldwide, Hyundai Motor continues to enhance its product line-up with localised models and strives to strengthen its leadership in clean technology, starting with the world's first mass-produced hydrogen-powered vehicle, ix35 Fuel Cell and IONIQ, the world's first model with three electrified powertrains in a single body type.

About Hyundai Motor UK

Hyundai has sold vehicles in the UK since 1982. In 2005, Hyundai opened its own UK subsidiary, Hyundai Motor UK Ltd, based in High Wycombe. Since 2008, the company has risen from 21st to one of the top 10 car manufacturers in the UK and last year sold a record 88,257 vehicles. Hyundai Motor UK employs more than 3,000 people through its UK operations and dealer network. Hyundai offers a full range of vehicles from the award-winning New Generation i10 city car through to the capable Santa Fe SUV and iLoad LCV. All passenger cars come with Hyundai's industry-leading 5 Year Unlimited Mileage Warranty package. Further information about Hyundai and its products is available at www.hyundai.co.uk.

Photo credit: Hyundai
posted on conceptcarz.com

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