Targa Florio 2025: the world’s oldest race welcomes back Lancia
- Lancia makes its official return to racing at the Targa Florio from May 8th to 10th, 2025, choosing the historic race for the debut of the Trofeo Lancia cup starring the Ypsilon Rally4 HF, which has already reached 90 units sold in just four months.
- The first race of the one-brand cup will kick off on May 8th with the Targa Florio Rally, the third stage of the Italian Absolute Rally Championship (CIAR SPARCO), and will feature teams registered for the Trofeo Lancia, including many Under-35 drivers.
- The Lancia Corse HF Village located at the University of Palermo will be the hub for all things Lancia, featuring a hospitality area, activities for the public, test drives of the hybrid and electric New Ypsilon, as well as the display of the sporty 280-hp Ypsilon HF.
- To kick off the Targa Florio and Lancia’s debut in the rally world, an exclusive event will be held at the Palermo Stellantis&You showroom on the evening of May 7th.
- With 15 victory overall victories, Lancia is one of the winningest brands in the history of the “cursa” thanks to legendary models like the Stratos, Rally 037, and Delta HF Integrale and world-renowned drivers, including Carello and Perissinot’s triumph behind the wheel of a Lancia Stratos HF in 1978 at the first edition of the Targa Florio Rally.
After years of waiting and growing excitement among fans, Lancia will bring back a legend in just a few days, choosing an iconic stage for its official return to motorsport: the Targa Florio, the world’s oldest car race. As evidence of the event’s importance to the area and its ability to embrace innovation and tradition, from May 8th to 10th, 2025, the 109th edition of the cursa (race in the Sicilian dialect) will take place among the hills and curves of the Madonie, the mountain range hosting the Targa Florio Rally —the third stage of the Italian Absolute Rally Championship (CIAR SPARCO)—as well as the Targa Florio Historic Rally, the Classic Regulatory Rally, Zone Rally Cup, and Sicilian Championship. The Sicilian race will also be the first date of the Trofeo Lancia, the new one-brand cup starring the New Lancia Ypsilon Rally4 HF in six CIAR races across five dates. Divided into three categories – Junior (Under 25), Master (25-35) and Expert (Over 35) – the Trofeo Lancia features a €360,000 prize fund and the chance for a young driver to win a spot in the official Lancia team in the European Rally Championship (ERC) 2026 led by Eugenio Franzetti.
The city of Palermo will be able to welcome the crews who will compete across a total distance of 781.29 km, including 113.7 km of special stages, during the Targa Florio Rally’s ceremonial start, which will take place on May 8th at 6:30 p.m. in front of the Teatro Massimo in the stunning Piazza Verdi. The crews registered for the Trofeo Lancia cup will test themselves out on these historic racing roads behind the wheel of the Ypsilon Rally4 HF, a major success which has already reached 90 units sold in just four months. Equipped with a 212-hp, turbo engine paired with a SADEV 5-speed gearbox and adjustable Ohlin shock absorbers, the powerful race car is the perfect vehicle for emerging drivers who want to cut their teeth, as demonstrated by the many Under-35 participants in the Trofeo Lancia.
The event’s headquarters will be located at the University of Palermo in the Museum of Engines and Mechanisms, part of the Museum System of the University of Palermo, in viale delle Scienze, Building 8, where a special area will be set up for technical and racing tests, assistance, the starts for the first and second stages, and the awards ceremony. This will also be the location of the Lancia Corse HF Village, the hub for all things Lancia which will feature a hospitality area and various activities for all fans, including thrilling test drives of the hybrid and electric New Lancia Ypsilon courtesy of the Palermo Stellantis&You showroom, which will hold an exclusive event on May 7th to kick off the Targa Florio and Lancia’s return to rally. Moreover, guests at the Lancia Corse HF Village will also be able to admire the 280-hp Ypsilon HF, the high-performance road version powered by a 100% electric engine which accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in just 5.8 seconds. To be released halfway through the year, the Ypsilon HF combines superior performance with a design inspired by the most radical vehicles from Lancia’s past, including a lowered suspension and a widened wheel track.
The Trofeo Lancia cup’s most exciting moments at the Targa Florio Rally will be shared in real time on the official Lancia Corse HF accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to allow all of Lancia’s fans to enjoy the event. As could previously be seen on social media, the festivities kicked off few weeks ago at the Rally Regione Piemonte which, despite not counting towards the Trofeo Lancia, featured the participation of the Lancia Corse HF team and highlighted the Turin-based brand’s deep ties to Piedmont. On that occasion, the Finnish driver Kauppinen won the Rally4 trial show which opened the Rally Regione Piemonte. Meanwhile, Gianandrea Pisani and Nicola Biagi reached the podium as the new Ypsilon Rally4 HF made its debut in the Italian Two-Wheel Drive Italian Championship. Lastly, the finish-line stage in Piazza San Paolo also welcomed the arrival of the Vigliaturo-Corradini, Fiore-Casalini and Kauppinen-Karttunen teams, whose names, together with Pisani-Biagi, will be forever linked to an important day in Lancia racing history.
On the back of these results and the warm welcome received in Piedmont, Lancia is taking part in the Targa Florio Rally with a clear desire to provide fans with a high-octane race together with the Trofeo Lancia drivers. After all, the Italian brand is indelibly linked to the Sicilian race, with the brand’s founder Vincenzo Lancia making two podium finishes in 1907 and 1908, and Costantino Magistri winning it in 1936 behind the wheel of a Lancia Augusta. Three consecutive wins were to come in the Fifties: Felice Bonetto in 1952 with the Aurelia B20, Umberto Maglioli in 1953 with the D20, and Piero Taruffi in 1955 with the D24. The last overall victory at the historic Targa Florio took place in 1974, when Gérard Larrousse and Amilcare Ballestrieri led the revolutionary Lancia Stratos HF to glory. In 1978, for safety reasons, the legendary regularity race turned into a rally race and, in its first edition, the Carello-Perissinot team triumphed behind the wheel of a Lancia Stratos HF, kicking off a winning streak for the Italian brand. In total, from 1978 to 1992 (the year it left racing), Lancia brought home 10 trophies thanks to drivers like Antonio Carello, Gianfranco Cunico, Tony Fassina, Dario Cerrato, Piero Liatti, Piero Longhi and Piergiorgio Deila who drove legendary models like the Stratos, the Rally 037, and the Delta HF Integrale. In short, with 15 overall victories, Lancia is one of the winningest carmakers in the history of the Targa Florio.
The glory, passion, and thrills of the Targa Florio are drawing near. In this legendary race, the ambitions of modern and powerful rally vehicles will be juxtaposed with the historic victories of Lancia vehicles which made automotive history on the roads of Sicily. And after the iconic rally in the Madonie mountains, the Trofeo Lancia will move on to the most important races on the Italian scene like the Rally Due Valli (May 30-31) and the Rally Roma Capitale (July 4-6), which will allow the trofeisti to compete in an FIA ERC international round. After the summer break, the Trofeo Lancia will proceed to the Rally del Lazio (September 13-14) before the grand finale at the historic Rallye Sanremo (October 17-18).