The WRC is in for a big shake-up in 2013, with many teams unrecognisable or worse, not in it at all.

For starters, there will be no Mini or Ford factory teams, though both marques will run in privateer guise.

However, two brand new manufacturers enter the fray. Hyundai will come in with its i20, while VW will debut its new Polo WR car, and has stolen the prized Red Bull sponsorship from Citroen. Meanwhile, Citroen takes the Abu Dhabi dollars from the defunct Ford team.

Citroen has also taken Dani Sordo back after turfing him for Ogier several years ago. Dani went to Mini, then drove the odd rally in WRC and starred in the IRC, so should have his eye in. Dani will alternate with eight-time champ Seb Loeb, who is only driving four rallies, his favourites, in 2013.

And the wonderful Petter Solberg will not be running in the WRC at all; for the first in 15 years.

The WRC will be a very different beast in ‘13.

First Mini, and now Ford. Within a week, two of the three factory teams in the World Rally Championship have announced they will withdraw their support at the end of 2012, citing the current economic climate as the primary reason behind the decision.

The WRC has been in the doldrums this year since losing its promoter, after Russian Vladimir Antonov, who was essentially in charge of the commercial rights of the WRC, was busted for suspected fraud at two banks he controlled.

Ford had refused to sign up to a sport that may not have television and support, but finally caved, signing Petter Solberg and agreeing to ‘two more years at least’.

But only one has passed, and they are now leaving the sport.

“Ford has a long and proud history in the WRC and this was not an easy decision,” said Roelant de Waard, vice president, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford of Europe.

“At this time, however we determined that it was better for the company and the Ford brand to reduce our commitment to the WRC and deploy our resources in other areas.”

Ford’s partner in world rallying, M-Sport, who have had the factory’s backing since 1997, say they are now looking at their options for 2013.

“I would like to thank Ford of Europe for their enthusiastic support and the faith shown in the team over the past 16 seasons,” said M-Sport boss, and former Ford factory rally driver Malcolm Wilson.

“We understand that tough decisions have had to be made to safeguard Ford jobs, we accept the commercial reality of the situation and look forward to continuing our strong technical partnership into the future.

“My intention is that we will continue to push to secure stage wins and overall results on the forthcoming events for Ford and to push forward with the development work that was started in March this year to improve and refine the Fiesta WRC even further, ready for the 2013 season.

“Confirmation of our key championship programmes for 2013 is our first priority and a challenge that the team here is very much looking forward to.  After that we can review all options and determine the right direction for the future.

“M-Sport is extremely proud of our history with Ford since 1997; 208 podium finishes, scoring points on 156 consecutive events and 52 wins from 225 starts in the WRC along with two world titles underlines the dedication and commitment of the whole team in Cumbria.”

With Volkswagen assumed to enter the sport in 2013, it will be up to them and Citroen to fly the flag.

“As a result of the business review, Prodrive has made the decision to exit the performance car market at the end of 2012,” said Prodrive Managing Director Bryan Mears.

“We have enjoyed great success through our partnership with Ford Australia and look forward to watching the FPV brand continue to thrive in the future.”

Australia’s Ford performance arm, FPV, has released a track-going limited edition model of the V8 GT today.

The car features suspension modifications and launch control, as well as a bling black and red paint job, aping the palette of the popular 1968 Mustang.

It is powered by a 5.0-litre supercharged V8 petrol engine with 335kW of power and 570Nm of torque, through either a six-speed manual or six-speed ZF automatic gearbox.

The GT R SPEC (Race Specification) has a limited run of 350 sedans, and is priced from AU$76,990, which strategically splits the V8 entry level GT and top-shelf GT-P and GT-E.

For some time now, the world of cars has been turning green.

The sickly plague of eco-this, earth friendly-that has brought about the early retirement of many a fine model, as six, four and even two cylinder models replace more conventional engines in the search for fuel economy and CO2 emission lows.

But it’s good to see that some dreams may not be dead just yet.

At a recent launch in New Zealand, Ford’s southern hemisphere boss Bob Graziano hinted that the old V8-powered XR8 nameplate for the Falcon/Taurus is still alive - though the actual car has been out of commission since the introduction of the new FG designation in 2010.

“We have been studying (the XR-8 business case) for some time now,” admitted Graziano.

“It is an iconic name and brand. With everything we are currently doing, we just have to find the right balance.”

Balance indeed - we can’t all pot around in two-cylinder turbos…

Off the back of the news that Petter Solberg will be joining #1 driver Jari-Matti Latvala at Ford next year, an avid fan has taped a recent test day with the Finn on the tarmac near Monte Carlo. And he;’s certainly pushing the new car to its limit. Click the image above for Latvala, or HERE for Solberg - and enjoy!

It’s official - Ford has extended its participation in the FIA World Rally Championship for two more years at least, and even better, has signed Petter.

After a nervous few months for both Ford boss Malcom Wilson and his team, and for the WRC, Ford has overlooked the current issues with the finances of the sport and agreed to a new two-year deal.

The signing came under threat earlier this year when Russian Vladimir Antonov, who is essentially in charge of the commercial rights of the WRC, was busted for suspected fraud at two banks he controls, arrested, and bailed pending trial.

Ford had refused to sign up to a sport that may not have television and support, but obviously an agreement has been reached.

Ford will again campaign its Fiesta RS World Rally Car, with Finland’s Jari-Matti Latvala and co-driver Miikka Anttila stepping up to the #1 position with the defection of former team leader Mikko Hirvonen to Citroen.

And in the best bit of news, 2004 WRC champ Petter Solberg will be joining the squad.

Left without a ride after Subaru dropped out of the WRC, Petter has spent the last few years struggling as a privateer, forced to be both driver, financier, and manager.

Solberg and codriver Chris Patterson have signed a one-year agreement to drive the team’s second Fiesta RS WRC in all 13 rounds. It will be his second time around with Ford, having launched his world rally career with the team back in 1999.

Ford of Australia’s performance arm, Ford Performance Vehicles, always unveils machines that cause our drool to drip all the way down to the Outback – and we’re not talking gimmicky steakhouses here. A new FPV showcar has just been revealed for the Australian International Auto Show in Melbourne, and we’re already stuffing our mouth with gauze. It’s called the FPV Concept, and it’s based on the Ford Falcon GT sedan.

Looking decisively evil in its blacked-out color scheme, the FPV Concept is powered by a supercharged 5.0-liter V8 engine. Large 19-inch wheels help sort the handling and power, with eight-inch-wide rollers up front and 9.5-inch-wide wheels in the rear. The suspension is track-tuned and in our dreams, the exhaust system has been tuned by Hades himself.

Sadly, this FPV Concept is just another vehicle in a long line of Australian muscle machines Americans will never get to buy.

Ford Performance Vehicles, the factory tuning arm of Ford Australia, has created a rather cool concept car for the Australian International Motor Show in Melbourne this week.

It’s the first concept car ever or the brand, which has been around for less than a decade.

The all-black GT-based sedan houses the new Coyote block-based V8, that is supercharged for an extra kick, and the Concept has bigger six-piston front and four-piston rear calipers to handle said grunt.

The suspension has been retuned for a firmer, sharper response particularly in the front/turn in - something the still-wallowy GT desperately needs.

There are new big brake ducts in the front bar, black borders around the taillamps, a matt silver and black stripe package, and big 19-inch forged one-piece alloys (black of course).

“The black-on-black treatment looks spectacular and it really changes the look of the car, so I’ll be very interested to hear what FPV enthusiasts think.

“That’s what this concept car is about – we wanted to demonstrate the possibilities, explore the future and gauge public opinion to assist us with the evolution of FPV product.”

The annual World Time Attack Challenge, or Superlap, has quickly picked up steam as on of Australia’s premier track events, with all manner of amazing machinery and top level drivers drawn to Eastern Creek in Sydney to fight for lap time honours.

And one of the crazy new entries is a Ford Falcon Ute! Jose Fernandez, a former V8 Supercar driver, has built the ute out of his Sydney workshop for the event (August 5 - 6).

The car is still recogniseable as a Falcon, but all the panels are carbon and fibreglass, it has a Hollinger dogbox, a different turbo hooked up to the Aussie-made inline six for 800 horsepower, and the suspension is Ohlins coilovers with aluminium housings for light weight.

Ironically, the brakes are actually smaller, but Jose said “don’t forget, we are only out to do one really quick lap not one hundred.” Still…