Former World Rally Championship driver Gigi Galli will be returning to FIA World Rallycross this year with his own team, competing in a car usually referred to as “my rental” or “my parents bought me this:” a Kia Rio. Holy crap, it actually manages to look really awesome in World Rallycross trim.

I have a theory: everything looks better as a race car. It doesn’t matter what it is, be it or a Kia Rio from the bad old days, when they felt more like underpowered rolling penalty boxes than real cars. Every single thing. I’ll be adding this sweetest Rio ever to that file labelled “proof,” thank you very much.

Kias have improved leaps and bounds over the years and with that comes motorsports. Sweet, delicious motorsports. Galli decided to field his own team after competing reasonably well at last year’s World RX of Italy event, and with the creation of his new team, he’s bringing the Rio to World Rallycross. There’s never been a Rio in World Rallycross, so it should be interesting to see how the little (heavily, heavily modified) Kia does.

Finally, here’s a Rio you’d want to drive. Finally! Please, Kia, do consider bringing even half of this lunacy to a roadgoing version. The big fender flares and little wing do wonders to this car.

Contact the author at .