J A Motorsport is one of the most prominent names in the Indian motorsport scene, having built the MRF F2000 and F1600 single-seaters, and even track-day cars like the Super Nano and Inde. Their latest project is a rally-spec Hyundai i20 N Line, built for the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC).
- Power boosted to 140hp
- Built for next year’s new INRC3+ regulations
- WRC driver Martins Sesks to help with testing and development
J A Motorsport Hyundai i20 N Line: What’s different?
This is the first i20 N Line in India built as per rally specifications for the new INRC3+ class planned to be introduced next year. While the current INRC3 cars are all naturally aspirated, the new INRC3+ class will bring in turbocharged engines for production cars.
The rally car uses the stock 1.0-litre, three-cylinder turbo-petrol, but ECU changes and remapping have bumped up power from 120hp to around 140hp. The 6-speed manual also remains, but it’s mated to a limited-slip differential with three ramp angles to take on a variety of terrain. The car showcased at the Rally of Hyderabad sports 15-inch MRF tyres.
The rally car also gets three-way adjustable double-piston dampers, a J A Motorsport performance exhaust, a hydraulic jacking system, and carbon fibre for the door pads, the centre console, roof scoop, navigator foot rest and the driver grip pad. Inside, it gets FIA-grade Sparco seats, brackets, steering wheel and seat belts. It’s also equipped with a Stilo intercom for driver and navigator communication.
To meet the safety regulations, the rally-spec i20 N Line sports a fully welded FIA-grade roll cage, aluminium sump guard and composite underbody protection for gravel.
Plans for international rallying
Hyundai India is not involved in this project for now; all development and testing is being undertaken by J A Motorsport. The company wants to start off by exploring the INRC first and will build cars for customers as per demand.
However, J A Motorsport does want to explore exporting for customer teams in international championships as well. The i20 N Line rally car is already built based on FIA rally rules. So, it will require minimal changes to run it in the Rally 4 and Rally 5 classes of European Rally championships.
World Rally Championship driver Martins Sesks (who also helped MRF clinch the European Rally Championship titles in 2022 and 2023) will be testing the car in Coimbatore in the coming weeks. J A Motorsport hasn’t revealed the price just yet, with supplier deals and costs still being finalised. This project also sees J A motorsport return to the INRC. In the past, the firm has worked on MRF’s factory rally cars.
