The series began in 1993 under the name FIA Cup for Manufacturers of Touring Cars (2-Litre), following Group A rules for front-wheel-drive vehicles with a maximum engine capacity of two litres. General Motors Europe dominated the inaugural season, with Skoda as runner-up; victories were spread across GME, Renault, Skoda, and Lada.
The defining technical shift came in January 1995 with the introduction of Kit Cars. Based on the existing F2 regulations but permitting significantly more modifications, a well-developed Kit Car could produce around 30 bhp more than a conventional Group A car and was estimated to be up to three seconds per mile faster. Ford debuted the Escort RS2000 Kit Car at that year's RAC Rally, and Skoda took the manufacturer title that season with its Favorit model — despite the Favorit using a 1,300 cc engine in a championship nominally for 2-litre cars.
The 1995 season saw the competition expand rapidly. Citroën entered a ZX 16v Kit Car, while Peugeot fielded the 306 Maxi, Renault the Clio Maxi, and SEAT the Ibiza Kit Car. Peugeot won the 1995 title. SEAT then dominated the following three years, winning back-to-back-to-back titles in 1996, 1997, and 1998 with their Ibiza Kit Car to become the most successful manufacturer in the category's history.
As the 1990s progressed, French manufacturers Peugeot and Citroën developed Kit Cars increasingly optimized for tarmac surfaces, where the lighter, naturally aspirated machines could match and sometimes beat turbocharged four-wheel-drive Group A and World Rally Cars. The domestic French championship's shift toward all-tarmac events encouraged this specialization, producing cars better suited to circuits than gravel roads.
In 1997, Gilles Panizzi demonstrated the gap in capability by finishing third outright on the all-tarmac Rallye Catalunya in his Peugeot 306 Maxi, defeating all but two World Championship cars — an achievement he repeated shortly after on the Tour de Corse, with teammate François Delecour finishing fourth. The following year, the 306 Maxi ran competitive times throughout the Monte Carlo Rally, Rallye Catalunya, and Rallye Sanremo, with Delecour finishing second on the Tour de Corse behind only Colin McRae's Subaru.
The climax came in 1999, when Philippe Bugalski drove his tarmac-optimised Citroën Xsara Kit Car to outright victory at Rallye Catalunya, then repeated the feat at the Tour de Corse three weeks later, defeating the entire WRC field on both occasions. These victories underscored both the extraordinary pace of the tarmac Kit Cars and the structural problem with their eligibility in world championship competition.
SEAT won the manufacturer title in 1996, 1997, and 1998. Peugeot and Renault each won the title once during the category's existence; Renault took the final title in 1999 by seven points from Hyundai, with only three teams scoring that year. Skoda won the 1995 title.
Notable drivers whose international profiles developed through the 2-Litre category included Gilles Panizzi and Philippe Bugalski, both of whom used their tarmac-rally performances to launch careers in the main WRC field. Sébastien Loeb, who would go on to dominate the WRC, also emerged from the French rally scene during this period.
By 1999, the cost of kit car development had become prohibitive for smaller manufacturers, and the field had shrunk to three teams. The FIA phased out the category at the end of that season. Its two successor classes served different purposes: the 1,600 cc cars were modified for Super 1600 specification, forming the basis of the new Junior World Rally Championship that launched in 2001; the Super 2000 class was incorporated into the revamped Production World Rally Championship. The 2-Litre World Rally Cup's legacy lies primarily in the tarmac-specialist Kit Car formula it pioneered and in the careers it helped launch.