Hyundai i20 WRC 2014 Review

Five seconds. That's all that separates Chris Atkinson and his Hyundai i20 World Rally Car from go time. He casually alters the beast with a switch to stage mode and suddenly the idle rises to a busy 2200rpm, an accompanied increase in exhaust volume pounding into my helmet.

"Let's hit the launch control," he says, really giving me no choice in the matter.

Four tyres dissolve under a torrent of torque – around 450Nm, though the team is coy on specifics – and the sophisticated differentials get to work, converting that grunt into forward grip. Atko's right hand is a blur in the periphery as he smashes the sequential gear-lever through six short gears, the 1.6-litre turbocharged four-pot engine filling the cockpit with the angry buzz of a hornet's nest.

The i20 dismisses the steep climb ahead with disdain, its mega-dollar Reiger suspension allowing the car to breathe with the road's contours. Tall ride height, soft springing and taut damping control… why aren't road cars more like this?

Three sudden, simultaneous movements – brake, throttle, steer – have the Hyundai dancing on its toes as the talented rally professional prepares for a cresting left hairpin, a highlight of the 'Wedding Bells' stage in the rally itself.

That steering input is a sharp jab right, designed to unsettle the rear and known as the 'Scandinavian flick', the right foot lifting off the throttle and the left foot crashing into the brake pedal as he grabs left lock at the last second. To show off, Atko throws the hydraulic handbrake to lock the rear wheels, sending the tail still-further, the current Hyundai World Rally Car set at 90 degrees as it tucks into the apex. But hang on, there's a hulking boulder protruding from the surface… "Don't cut!" my inner co-driver yells, but it matters little; both Atko and the i20 metaphorically smash it to smithereens.

Two jumps highlight this amazing maze of a road, but the big one is post-hairpin. After a steep, straight descent magnifies the i20's acceleration, we are in sixth gear in a heartbeat. I can see the mound, created on the road for drainage, dead-ahead, but I wonder if Atko can as we are nearing the rev limiter in sixth. Holy sh..

We hit the mound at undiminished speed, nary a hint of waver on the throttle, and we hang in the air for what feels like an eternity, 30 metres in real distance.

Up in the sky, without the gravelly buzz of surface contact, the cockpit goes eerily quiet. We discuss Atko's real preference for slight understeer in the setup, and that he never felt on-top of the car throughout the rally, and the weather up here in the clouds, before we land… The expected thump and feared possible tyre blowout never eventuate; instead the Hyundai reattaches to the surface limpet-like, damping rebound a model of perfection.

One particular corner, however, provides the ultimate in-car experience. At what an engineer later tells me is 187km/h, it's a long downhill '9-Left' with a greasy approach that has me willing Atko to back off. "It's basically a straight!" he casually relates. The cabin fills with gunshot, the rev limiter setting in as I sneak a look at the digital tacho, which sits somewhere north of 7200rpm. It's a corner that put hairs on my chest the previous day, watching the best drivers in the world attempt it at maximum attack, up close and personal. But from inside it's almost serene, the Hyundai tucking in with unwavering commitment before another mash of brakes for the '6-Right' that follows.

Back in the rudimentary service park, my mind catches up with the experience.

For all the outside-view histrionics and in-car speed, what stands out is Atko's calmness behind the wheel. Every input is measured, optimised and – most importantly – smoothly deliberate and designed to work to the car's strengths. Of those, it's the way the tyres, dampers, brakes and diffs work in unison to maximise traction in all situations that really blows the mind.

And to think that, for Hyundai, this is just the start; the replacement i20 WRC is slated to be introduced mid-2015, and starts testing this week. The ride queue, however, starts right here.

2014 Hyundai i20 WRC pricing and specifications:
Price: $1,000,000 (plus on-rally costs)
Engine: 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 224kW/400+Nm
Transmission: Six-speed sequential manual
Fuel: 80-litre fuel cell
CO2: Mostly emitted by passenger
Safety Rating: Massive, but depends how nutty the driver is

What we liked:
>> All-weather, all-surface traction
>> Incredible body control
>> Ability to fly

Not so much:
>> No stereo
>> Lots of road noise
>> Oversized handbrake is a gimmick that no-one will use. Wait…