WRC car price is an exorbitant amount. Yes, even more than you can imagine, and no – not as inconceivable as you might think. The actual cost of WRC rally car is a puzzle worthy of a real spy, but we can calculate it based on facts.
To find an original price:
In 2019, Citroen announced that it would withdraw from the World Rally Championship. After that, the Citroen C3 WRC were available to private individuals. Although the rally cars were not auctioned, there is no indication of a price. How do you find out for how much the rally cars of Sebastien Ogier and Esapekka Lappi went under the hammer?
How much does WRC2 car cost?
While WRC cars are only available through private auctions and closed sale. Drivers can purchase WRC2 cars via a request on the official website of the auction. Usually, old rally cars go on open sale for private collections. WRC2 cars cost about 190,000 to 230,000 USD, and the starting price at the auction starts at $150,000. It does not include taxes and fees, transportation and services. Here are WRC2 rally cars for sale at motorsportauctions
- Ford Fiesta R5 Evo2 – 153 000 – 170 000 USD,
- Skoda Fabia R5 – 201 000 USD,
- Ford Fiesta NCR / R5+ – 139 000 USD,
- Skoda R5, Hyundai R5 EVO 3 for ask
Advertisements are for informational purposes only and do not guarantee quality.
WRC2 car and WRC rally car are different, because of filling. Thus WRC car price is for a many times higher than 200,000 dollars. M-Sport team owner Malcolm Wilson made it clear in an interview that there is a real gap is growing by the day:
What really concerns me is rallying going forward. You’re broadening the gap so much for any young aspiring drivers
Malcolm Wilson
WRC car price in 2014
In 2014, Mikko Hirvonen destroyed his Ford Fiesta R5 at the Sardinia Rally. On Friday afternoon, the Finn's car caught fire on the section between stages three and four, and within minutes it was a black tarpaulin. Flames spread to the surrounding forest.
The financial implications to replace it are huge. You’re looking in excess of £400,000 and we don’t insure the rally cars, so that’s a big hit
Malcolm Wilson told wrc.com
What is special about the WRC rally car?
In the FIA World Rally Championship, rally vehicles have unique racing car parts. The long-term secret developments and research of the world’s leading racing engineers may cost millions of dollars, as FIA WRC has been holding the events since 1973! The longer the rally team takes part in the championship or the more innovative their development is, the more expensive the rally car is.
WRC cars and the difference in teams’ budgets.
In contrast to Hyundai Motorsport, M-Sport Ford competes under the other circumstances in the FIA WRC. The Ford manufacturer retired from the championship in 2018. Their budget is determined by a deal between Malcolm Wilson (M-Sport), sponsorship, and a close technical relationship with Ford. The more financially free Hyundai Motorsport and Toyota Gazoo Racing are divisions within the head manufacturers.
It is difficult to figure out the details, but here is an example. The crashed Totota Gazoo racing rally car will be repaired and recovered as soon as possible. The manufacturer has a full team of engineers, all spare parts, and a complete database. Meanwhile, the crashed M-Sport Ford Rally car will cause additional expenses for Wilson’s team, which complicates participation in the championship.
Anyway, just imagine how old-hand Malcolm Wilson is at managing all these questions at once. This is why Sebastien Loeb’s victory at Rally Monte Carlo 2022 was an unprecedented success, with almost tears of happiness. That’s that.
Citroen’s withdrawal in 2019 meant the team could return to the big game under good conditions, but for now it is too costly or just there is no one as good as Malcolm Wilson. Citroen continues to play in the minor league – WRC2 championship.
How much does WRC rally car cost?
At today’s exchange rate, converting 400,000 pounds – 556,000 USD – is the price of the new R5 Ford Fiesta in 2014. It turns out that the actual cost starts at 600,000 USD. It is easy to assume that the cost of the top WRC cars price in 2020-2021 can fluctuate by 1,000 000 USD and reach 1,700 000 USD. Like the Toyota Yaris WRC or Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC. Their road versions cost: Toyota Yaris GRMN – 36,000 USD, Hyundai i20 Coupe – 20,000 USD, which is a 5 times cheaper.
Why does a rally car cost as much as a new house?
Compare the road version and the WRC version have only the design in common; and the similar things are only on the paper. Just, look at Toyota Yaris WRC and Toyota Yaris GRMN, these are completely different cars. Consider for example Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC and Hyundai i20 Coupe on the official website.
The difference of one million dollars is the money invested to make the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC from Hyundai i20 Coupe also includes:
- Brand new car parts and custom designs,
- Hours of testing in the factory and on the field;
- Work of mechanics, engineers, racing drivers, designers,
- Costs for logistics, insurance, etc.
Rally cars are mostly entirely assembled by hand.
So, it’s a brand-new car with a rather typical external design. Dressed for the occasion, the WRC car would have record time in the forest, on the ice or on the sands through the rain. There are the key features of a rally car:
- The vehicle must be totally sustainable in any setting and can be upgraded according to racing conditions.
- The rally car must be absolutely reliable from wheel to wheel and be able to withstand abuse at high speeds.
- The racing vehicle must also protect its drivers from injury. Therefore, engineers use lightweight materials and resistant details with all the latest in racing technology.
- Since 2022 marks the beginning of the upcoming hybrid era, upgraded rally1 cars have to comply with environmental requirements. Additional tasks include providing race fans with the best of rally racing battles using electronic gadgets like cameras and sensors.
Overall, the WRC car must be as fast as possible, reliable no matter what, resistant, safe, eco-friendly and meet rally fans’ expectations. Aren’t these too much? Exactly! Therefore, the more features to win you have, the more money you will need to get what you want.
What happens with the rally car after the crash?
Crashes usually marred rally challenges, ranging from massive dents to tire punctures. The primary goal of the rally team and the biggest headache of the race engineers at Service Park during the racing weekend is to minimize losses as soon as possible. Therefore, everything that can be useful: scotch, alcohol, scissors, hammers.
If there is no opportunity to recover the rally car, the team forwards the car to the team base for fully recovery. In very rare cases, there is no other option but to dispose, like it was with Mikko Hirvonen’s Ford in 2014.
The affected parts will be replaced, and the car put back into active use. We are talking breathtaking expenses you can figure out by looking at the price of Rally car accessories for 2018 year.
The average price of Rally car accessories (before hybrid era):
Engine Cost
Turbochargers Cost
Anti-lag systems
Four Wheel Drive
Sequential Gearboxes
Aerodynamic Parts
Extra Enhancements
Tires Cost
Accident Damaging (Expense)
The price of the WRC car could reach $1 500000, but it is actually several times higher. Here, car parts are at issue rather than the entire vehicle. Tens engineers will spend hours fine-tuning the settings, while rally drivers will test the settings ahead of the rally weekend. It will also calculate the results of their hours of work into the final rally car price.
WRC car price in 2023.
Although, since the FIA WRC championship switched to hybrid rally1 cars, the price has also changed. Officially, there is no information on how much the current WRC Rally1 car costs. You can multiply $1 500 000 by two and that will be the average price of a WRC car in 2022. As compared with the 2021, most of the differences are because of hybrid technology and the addition of electronic gadgets, which keep all the rules of the FIA WRC.
Following the success of Rally Monte Carlo 2022, M-Sport Ford provided the Puma Rally1 for private sale. They found the buyer quickly. Greek Jourdan Serderidis owes a car. The 58-year-old will drive the Puma at the Safari Rally (23-26 June) and the Acropolis Rally in September in the FIA WRC calendar 2022. Although internet racing resources provided news about the closed sale and who is that lucky guy, they omitted the main point – how much did that Puma Rally1 car cost?
What is the right place to buy a rally car?
To buy a rally car today is not as difficult a task as it was 10 years ago. Rally enthusiasts have found a rally car at an inexpensive price through groups, forums, on social media or on special web sources like motor sport auctions.
However, professional rally drivers find the combat cars through privateers and closed sales, like it was with the M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 car.
As another example, Gino WRC invest. Alessandro Gino is an athlete, investor and collector of rally cars and the owner of the company, which sells racing cars. Recently, former Hyundai Motorsport boss Andrea Adamo joined the Gino’s team as an adviser.
However, buying a professional ready-made rally combat vehicle will cost a lot of money, starting around $100 000 dollars. But to customize a ready-made car to your needs means multiplying $100 000 by two.
The origin of the rally’s car price.
As you can see, the cost of a WRC car is its road version plus…. millions of dollars for exclusive spare parts, hours of work on settings, days of testing and exclusive developments of leading experts in the world.
WRC car prices result from working with the highest technologies. And here is why the cost of any rally car is very expensive. However, only professional engineers or rally drivers can understand how much the price is reasonable, because that’s their job.
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