Hyundai is bringing the heat to Rally Portugal with a crucial engine upgrade, hoping to finally close the gap on their dominant rivals at Toyota. The Korean manufacturer has played its final homologation joker, introducing a modified engine that could be the key to unlocking more speed from the i20 N Rally1 car.

It's been a tough start to the season for Hyundai. While Toyota has swept all five rounds so far, looking faster and more consistent than ever, the Hyundai squad has been battling a narrow performance window. The team's engineers have been working overtime, and last month in Croatia, they rolled out the first wave of upgrades focused on dampers, geometry, and differentials—all tweaks that didn't require using a homologation joker.

Now, for the rough gravel roads of Portugal, Hyundai is going all-in. According to sporting director Andrew Wheatley, the engine change is designed to recover power lost due to a recent fuel specification shift. "The intake system has been modified to give a little bit more power," Wheatley explained. "It's not revolutionary, but it's incremental. It helps the engine breathe a bit better, and that could be a positive benefit this weekend."

With the regulations so tight, finding any significant performance gain is a challenge. But Hyundai believes these small steps add up. "All the homologated upgrades are here," Wheatley added. "The focus was always on Portugal and toward the end of the year."

The team has always expected to be stronger on gravel than on asphalt, where they were comprehensively beaten in the Canary Islands last month. Early signs from Wednesday's shakedown are promising: Thierry Neuville topped the timesheets, 0.3 seconds ahead of Toyota's Sami Pajari, with Adrien Fourmaux in third and Dani Sordo also in the mix. If the engine upgrade delivers, Rally Portugal could be the turning point Hyundai has been waiting for.