Toyota has received a strong level of interest from customers wishing to purchase its new 2027 World Rally Championship car that is currently in development for next year.
The Japanese brand is the only traditional automotive manufacturer developing a car to the FIA’s new WRC technical regulations to be introduced in 2027. Tuner operations Project Rally One and RMC Motorsport have also confirmed plans to develop cars to the new rules.
Toyota is reaching a critical point in the development with its final durability testing set to be completed this summer, before it begins the homologation process. The exact Toyota model the car is based around is yet to be announced.
Under the new FIA regulations, constructors have to make their cars available to customers. The homologation conditions for WRC27-type cars mandate the production of at least 10 units within 24 months of the homologation date. Constructors must also be capable of supplying at least 10 race-ready WRC27-type cars per calendar year to customers.
With less than six months until the 2027 season begins in Monte Carlo next January, Toyota’s car has already generated plenty of interest from prospective customers.
“We’ve had a really strong level of interest in the car. I think the main part that’s missing on that side is that there is a little bit of confusion in the customer base about where they can use the cars and how to use the cars in the categories and so on,” Toyota’s technical director Tom Fowler told Motorsport.com.
WRC 2027 Rally car
“But for sure, we have a lot of people that have made requests to go on the list to get cars. Some are kind of a little bit still uneasy about where they would actually use them.”
It appears Spanish squad Teo Martin Motorsport, which currently fields Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 cars for the likes of Alejandro Cachon in WRC2, is among those on the waiting list.
Team boss Teo Martin announced during an interview on Spain’s Rallycast podcast that he plans to buy at least two 2027 spec Toyotas.
“My first car will be delivered in December and the second five months later,” said Martin. “I still want to speak with Toyota and ask whether I could have the second car available already for Rally Monte Carlo. I’d also like to know if it will be possible to have a third car dedicated to testing.”
Toyota is already working on putting a production programme together for the construction of its 2027 cars in anticipation of supplying customer teams next year.
“We are in the process now of putting together a production programme,” added Fowler.
“I think if you look back at the introduction of any Rally2 car, including our own one in 2024, the first production is slightly limited because you can’t get hold of enough of the big bits like transmissions and engines and so on.
“In the start, the number of cars will be a little bit lower, but we intend to come to a point during the production that we can produce cars for other people. The exact production numbers are not defined yet, but we will be working on it.
“There’s still a lot of things to work through about how to manage this topic. It’s a very difficult position that we’re in. We’re the first ones to make the WRC 2027 car, so we need to be a little bit careful in terms of where the cars go and who’s using them. It’s no different than normal.”
