Project Rally One has formally presented its 2027 World Rally Championship challenger to the public as it sets its sights on fielding two cars at next season’s season opener in Monte Carlo.
The Belgian squad took the covers off its all-new car built to the WRC’s 2027 technical regulations at the Rally4Passion event in Huy, Belgium.
Founded by experienced motorsport engineer Lionel Hansen and former FIA rally director and Citroen WRC boss Yves Matton, Project Rally One announced plans to design, build and homologate a WRC27-specification car in December last year.
The squad is one of two tuner operations, including Spain’s RMC Motorsport, to commit to the new WRC technical regulations which now allow tuners to become constructors.
Project Rally One completed a roll out of its new car in Germany earlier this month and has now undertaken 750 kilometres of asphalt testing in France, led by the experienced Stéphane Lefebvre and Bruno Thiry. The team has confirmed that newly crowned European Rally champion and former factory WRC driver Teemu Suninen will lead the next phase of the car’s development on gravel next month.
“Project Rally One is now in its final phase ahead of the car’s homologation, which is scheduled for 1 November,” said Hansen. “We have just completed five days of asphalt testing, covering 750 kilometres without encountering the slightest reliability issue, while delivering the level of performance we were expecting.
“Once homologation has been completed, we will continue with further test sessions, again on asphalt next week, before moving onto gravel in October. This means we are on schedule, and our objective remains to enter two Rally One cars on the 2027 Rallye Monte-Carlo.
“It is a demanding challenge, but it remains a realistic one. There is still a lot to happen between now and then.”
2027 Project Rally One car shakedown
Photo by: Project Rally One
The car is powered by a Volkswagen Group engine, similar to the unit found in the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 car. Extensive modifications have been made to bring the powertrain into line with the WRC27 regulations while meeting the project’s performance targets.
For the moment the car is not directly associated with a current road car model, although its design shares design cues with Porsche, a marque Hansen knows well through his work developing the 992 Rally GT car.
“As everyone knows, I have a long-standing relationship with a well-known German brand, which is reflected in the car’s rather futuristic look,” explains Hansen. “However, this brand is not involved in Project Rally One, either from a technical or financial standpoint. For the design and construction of the bodywork, we were able to rely on the expertise of Faster Racing, a Paris-based company with 35 years of experience in motorsport. The result is particularly successful.
“As we officially unveil Project Rally One today, together with the team around me, we can only be proud of what we have achieved so far – while also remaining fully aware of the scale of the task still ahead.
“The homologation process is the same as Toyota’s. However, any comparison between an automotive industry giant and a private team ends there. Our overall budget is limited, which means we have to remain constantly responsive and efficient. We are not a factory team, but we are preparing to compete in the same arena.
“Around 4,500 hours have already been required to develop the car, and there is still a significant amount of work ahead of us.”
The team is yet to finalise its driver line-up for next year but has confirmed the project is attracting interest from prospective pilots.
“At present, Project Rally One involves 21 full-time employees,” said sporting director Alain Penasse. “The challenge, of course, is to put the right people in the right positions within an extremely tight timeframe, particularly with an event such as the 2027 Rallye Monte-Carlo as our target.
“It is still too early to officially announce anything regarding the driver line-up for Monte-Carlo, but discussions are ongoing. And I can confirm that Project Rally One is certainly attracting plenty of interest.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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