British rally outfit M-Sport will soon officially launch the Ford Fiesta Rally3 where the performance and price tag will be revealed, with the car being the first of its kind to be built to the new regulations that are designed as the step between Rally2 and Rally4.
The car is a four-wheel drive and acts like a quicker R2 in terms of performance rather than a slimmed down R5 and features no expensive aerodynamic kits or components.
The class will make its debut on January 1st when the FIA homologation will also be ready for the car and it can legally start competing. The car has been developed and built by M-Sport’s Polish arm of the company, with those who also handle the operation of the Junior WRC series involved in the project.
The Fiesta Rally3 will be the first four-wheel-drive Ford from the team in Poland with a big testing and development program already being undertaken by former Junior WRC champion Nil Solans.
With four-wheel drive and just over 200 horsepower awaiting potential customers, the price tag is expected to be about €25,000 more than a fully equipped Fiesta Rally4 which is currently used in the JWRC series.
The car and the class will even out the steps for juniors and is designed as an intermediate step for competitors wanting four-wheel-drive but with a smaller budget compared to R5 entrants. Solans has gone on record recently of saying the driving technique needed is very similar to what is required aboard a Rally2 car.
The car is aimed at entrants to more national and regional based series’ such as the FIA European Rally Championship, but with more manufacturers possibly joining the class in the future, the new class could become the new WRC3 in the future.
