Fun Cup GEN4: Toyota engine and €87,800 for 2027

€87,800 excl. VAT. That's the price of a new Fun Cup for 2027, or more than €105,000 including VAT… for a car that looks like a little Beetle 😅

The Fun Cup was supposed to be an affordable category, so of course the figure gets people talking. But behind this increase there's one big change: in 2027, the Fun Cup moves to GEN4, its fourth generation. New engine, new electronics, richer standard equipment, and a kit to convert current cars.

I was lucky enough to do 4 Fun Cup races this season, so I looked at this announcement closely. And I put my questions directly to the organisers. Engine, price, kit, classifications, calendars and rental budget: here's everything that changes 👇

ℹ️ Prefer to watch a video? This article is also available as a video on YouTube, click here! 🎥

What is the Fun Cup?

The Fun Cup is a one-make endurance championship: everyone races the same car. From the outside, it's a Beetle. Under the polyester bodywork, it's a proper racing prototype: tubular chassis, mid-rear engine, rear-wheel drive, for around 750 kg.

Before GEN4, there were three generations:

Generation	Year	Engine	Gearbox
Evo 1	1997	1.8 petrol, 130 hp	H-pattern
Evo 2	2009	1.9 turbo diesel, 160 hp	H-pattern
Evo 3 (GEN3)	2012	2.0 Volkswagen petrol, around 175 hp	Sadev sequential
GEN4	2027	2.0 naturally aspirated Toyota	Sadev sequential

New cars have been built by WRT (W Racing Team) since 2012. The Fun Cup runs championships in France, Belgium and the UK, plus one unmissable event: the Spa 25 Hours, with once again more than a hundred cars on the grid this year, pro drivers coming along for fun and a huge amount of racing on track 🔥

Why a Toyota-powered Fun Cup GEN4?

The reason is simple: the GEN3 engine is getting hard to find. This Volkswagen unit, supplied by WRT, has powered the cars for almost 15 years, and parts supply has become a real problem. Changing engines was essential to bring back stability.

Development wasn't rushed. The car raced from late 2025, notably at Zolder, then throughout the 2026 season. On the engine side, Oreca handles everything, including rebuilds: all GEN4 engines will have to be serviced by Oreca.

Alain Ferté, a long-standing Fun Cup figure, took part in development. Stéphane Ortelli also tried the car, as did several championship regulars. The main priority of this work: reliability.

Performance deliberately close to GEN3

No revolution on the stopwatch: the organisers estimate the gain at around half a second per lap, depending on the circuit. And that's intentional, Oreca even worked in that direction. GEN3 and GEN4 cars will have to share the track: if GEN4 were two seconds a lap faster than GEN3, every current car would be obsolete overnight.

The teams are clearly on board: more than 40 kits have already been ordered, and the figure is getting close to fifty.

Richer standard equipment

Beyond the engine, GEN4 gets new electronics, new looms and a new ECU. Above all, the new GEN4 comes with "enhanced equipment": items that were optional on GEN3 and are now standard.

• steering wheel paddles;
• steering wheel buttons;
• powerboard;
• MXS dashboard;
• rear-view camera;
• central wiper;
• brake balance with digital display.

The Fun Cup spirit stays, with a cockpit closer to a modern race car. The rear-view camera, for example, is far from a gimmick in endurance racing with 60, 80 or 100 cars on track… especially once you've lost a mirror in a pack battle 😅

Longer intervals between engine rebuilds

GEN3 cars are very reliable: you can drive 15 hours over a weekend, sometimes more, without trouble. But over time, with successive updates and parts getting harder to find, the engine needed rebuilds more and more often, around every season and a half by the end.

With GEN4, the goal is to space out rebuilds: the organisers hope to reach three seasons. If that's confirmed in racing, it's huge for team budgets.

How much does a Fun Cup GEN4 cost?

A new single-seat Fun Cup GEN4 sells for €87,800 excl. VAT. For comparison:

Car	New price
Fun Cup Evo 3, around ten years ago	just over €60,000 excl. VAT
Latest new Evo 3s	around €70,000 excl. VAT, before options (easily €20,000 of options for a well-equipped car)
Fun Cup GEN4 (2027)	€87,800 excl. VAT, enhanced equipment included

Paddles, buttons, powerboard and dashboard were options on GEN3. They're now included. Like for like, prices are roughly in the same ballpark. It's still a lot of money, but not the explosion the headline figure suggests. Rising costs affect all of motorsport, starting with GT3 cars, whose prices keep climbing. In any case, new GEN3 cars can no longer be ordered.

You also have to look at how the Fun Cup works: most cars belong to teams that rent them out race after race, to three, four, sometimes six drivers. A Fun Cup does a huge amount of mileage, pays for itself over the years… and holds its value well. In the Fun Cup listings on GoToTheGrid, used Evo 3s are currently advertised between €47,000 and €55,000 excl. VAT, for cars that sometimes have several endurance seasons under their belt.

The GEN3 to GEN4 conversion kit

For existing owners, this is the real good news: no need to scrap your GEN3. An official kit converts it to GEN4, for €26,500 excl. VAT. Note that labour isn't included: teams fit the kit themselves.

The kit contains everything needed to install the new engine:

• the engine, with alternator, starter motor and flywheel;
• the ECU and all the looms;
• engine mounts;
• exhaust manifold and intake;
• a gearbox spacer.

Thanks to this spacer, the current Sadev gearbox is kept, which does the job very well, simply adapted to the new engine. The chassis remains the GEN3 one.

The old engine isn't taken back. Teams can sell it, or keep a few Evo 3s as they are for driving courses or for drivers who aren't chasing the win: the gap remains small.

Where to order? The kit is ordered from M3, the organiser of the French championship, including for Belgium. A new GEN4 is ordered directly from WRT. A two-seater GEN4 is also planned.

GEN3 and GEN4 on the same grid: which classifications?

In 2027, GEN3 and GEN4 will race together. And good news for GEN3 owners:

• no obligation to switch to GEN4;
• no end date announced for GEN3 cars;
• no obligation for the Spa 25 Hours either.

It wouldn't be a first: the Evo 1 and Evo 2 already have their own Vintage and Retro categories (I covered them in my first Fun Cup article), even if there aren't many left on the market.

There will be a GEN3 classification and a GEN4 classification. To fight for the overall win, you'll need a GEN4. But to get started or simply enjoy yourself, a GEN3 will do the job very well, with a classification all of its own 👍

Fun Cup 2027 calendars

All three championships have already unveiled their 2027 programme, with more and more trips outside France and Belgium.

Fun Cup France 2027 calendar

The 2027 Fun Cup France calendar has ten events, from Madrid (Jarama circuit) in mid-March to Portimão, Portugal, in early October. Seven count towards the championship: Madrid, the Spa 25 Hours and Zandvoort are non-championship rounds.

Two new features: Magny-Cours becomes a 12-hour race again, from noon to midnight, and Nogaro switches to a sprint race format.

Fun Cup Belgium 2027 calendar

Event	Dates
Madrid (Spain)	12-14 March
Official track day (non-championship)	20 March
Dijon (France)	9-11 April
Spa-Francorchamps	7-8 May
Spa 25 Hours	1-4 July
Zandvoort (Netherlands)	11-12 September
Portimão (Portugal, non-championship)	8-10 October
Zolder	30-31 October

The Fun Cup Belgium calendar shares many of the French dates: Madrid, Dijon, Spa, the 25 Hours, Zandvoort and Portimão.

Fun Cup UK 2027 calendar

Fun Cup UK 2027 runs over four weekends, at Donington, Oulton Park, Anglesey and Snetterton, with two races each time.

How much does it cost to rent a Fun Cup for a race?

For most drivers, who rent a seat, this is the key question. Today, in GEN3, with the organiser:

Item	Average price
Car rental for one race, all-inclusive	around €15,000 excl. VAT
Private testing (recommended)	around €1,500 excl. VAT

The total is split between the drivers. With four drivers and private testing, for example, that comes to around €4,100 excl. VAT per driver for one race. With some teams, for example with coaching included, it can cost more.

If you have never raced before, the licence, equipment and first steps are explained in our guide to getting started in circuit racing.

What about 2027? The organisers told me there could be a small impact on prices. So no explosion is expected. But to race a GEN4, you'll probably have to budget a little more.

First reactions from drivers

Under my GEN4 video, the price naturally got people talking. Several old hands point out that a rebuilt Evo 1 used to sell for around €15,000, with a very similar driving experience, and that a seat cost far less back then. Others miss the days when the early generations were developed in-house to keep costs down.

Some also compare with other series: for around a third of the price, you can do a season in SuperBerline 2.0L, car purchase included, or race a used Formula Ford with much lower running costs. Each to their own 😉 For low-budget endurance racing, there's also the Lamera Cup.

On the other hand, many acknowledge the series' real strength: you're always battling with someone, wherever you are in the pack. "It's expensive, but you get your money's worth" comes up often. That's my view too: since most drivers rent rather than buy, what really matters is the price of a seat. And on that front, given the level of the field and the track time, the Fun Cup still offers very good value, even if the sums remain large.

My take: a logical evolution

For me, GEN4 is a logical step. The engine was getting hard to source, and something had to be done before reliability and parts problems set in. I think it's been handled well: close performance so as not to kill off GEN3, a kit for existing owners, a separate classification, and a new car that's well equipped as standard.

Let's be honest: €87,800 excl. VAT for a new car, or €26,500 excl. VAT just to convert, is still a lot of money. And it raises the question of used GEN3 values: will they drop, or hold up thanks to the kit? We'll know in a few months.

What's certain is that even at a time when money is tight for many people, the Fun Cup keeps attracting drivers. The number of cars at every race is impressive, and few championships can say the same. For me, it's still one of the best balances of price, performance and track time you can find. You really do spend time behind the wheel 😉

If you're looking for a Fun Cup, GEN3 or older, or a seat for 2027, take a look at the Fun Cup listings on GoToTheGrid.

[VIDEO] €105,000 for a FUN CUP… REALLY?! – in French

FAQ: Fun Cup GEN4

How much does a new Fun Cup GEN4 cost?

A new single-seat Fun Cup GEN4 costs €87,800 excl. VAT, or more than €105,000 including VAT, with enhanced standard equipment (paddles, MXS dashboard, rear-view camera…).

What engine powers the Fun Cup GEN4?

A 2-litre naturally aspirated Toyota engine, prepared and serviced by Oreca. It replaces the GEN3 Volkswagen engine, which had become hard to source.

Can a Fun Cup GEN3 be converted to GEN4?

Yes, with the official kit sold for €26,500 excl. VAT, labour not included. It is ordered from M3, for France and Belgium alike. The Sadev gearbox and GEN3 chassis are retained.

Can Fun Cup GEN3 cars still race in 2027?

Yes. There's no obligation to switch to GEN4, no end date announced for GEN3 cars, and they remain eligible for the Spa 25 Hours. Separate GEN3 and GEN4 classifications are planned.

How much does it cost to rent a Fun Cup for a race?

In GEN3, with the organiser, expect on average €15,000 excl. VAT per car per race, all-inclusive, plus around €1,500 for private testing, split between the drivers. A slight price increase is possible in 2027.