C-Elysee tackles world’s circuits
The World Touring Car Championship provides a new stage for Citroen and its world champion driver, Sebastian Loeb, observes Dave Moore.
AFTER years of winning World Rallying Championship titles with its Xsara, C4 and DS3 models, Citroen is throttling back on rallying and looking at promoting its new European sedan, the C-Elysee, and its China-bound and designed C4-lounge, four-door cousin by way of the World Touring Car Championship.
The Citroen C-Elysee WTCC will be the first vehicle to be designed in accordance with new 2014 regulations for the series and Citroen sees the championship as an ideal platform through which to showcase the Citroen C-Elysee to key markets because of the series’ global audience.
When they say that, read: ‘‘Chinese audience’’, because that population loves four-doors and has yet to grasp the west’s love affair with hatchbacks.
While the C- Elysee WTCC machine won’t make its public appearance till the Frankfurt International Motor Show, which runs from September 12 to 22, we have gleaned some information on what makes the car tick, and go.
Citroen has revealed that the car will be driven on the circuits by Sebastien Loeb, who recently added a Pikes Peak record with PSA’s other brand, Peugeot, to his portfolio of World Rally Championship and Race of Champions wins.
Benefiting from the best of the brand’s expertise in terms of style, development and performance, the C- Elysee is a C-segment saloon aimed principally at high-growth, international markets such as those in Latin America, the Mediterranean region, China and Russia, and is already 30 per cent ahead of its initial sales target, with 30,000 orders placed.
‘‘Choosing C- Elysee as the basis for our WTCC car reflects very clearly our determination to use racing as an active means of supporting our commercial development,’’ says Frédéric Banzet, chief executive of the Citroen Brand.
‘‘With rounds in Latin America, Morocco, China and Russia, as well as the usual venues, the WTCC race calendar is genuinely global, and it will be a real advantage to run a CElysee, a key driver of our growth, in front of large crowds.’’
‘‘From a strictly technical perspective, the choice of a three-box saloon body was ideal in terms of aerodynamics. C- Elysee was therefore the perfect choice,’’ added Xavier Mestelan-Pinon, Citroen Racing’s technical director.
‘‘Apart from this aspect, we were able to install the various components fairly easily.
‘‘Insofar as this is our first track racing car, we constantly had to ask ourselves questions about the rel- evance of our choices, but that’s what makes this a particularly exciting challenge.’’
Firmly anchored to the tarmac on 18-inch wheels, the C- Elysee WTCC features an integrated aerodynamic front splitter while the front bumper accentuates the radiator grille with prominent double chevron branding.
The widened front and rear wings give the car’s bodywork a decidedly muscular look, while at the rear, the prominent wing should provide sufficient downforce to ensure that the car hugs the track.
Under the bonnet, Citroen C- Elysee WTCC is powered by the same 1.6-litre direct injection turbocharged engine as the World Rally Championship winning DS3.
WTCC regulations allow more power, however, with a wider booster flange, providing close to 280kW.
The car comes with a front-wheel drive and a six-speed sequential gearbox.
After making its first track outing a few days ago, Citroen C- Elysee WTCC has now begun a programme of development tests ahead of its unveiling in Frankfurt next month.