Just a month after the start of the FIA 2017 World Rally Championship - the first meeting on the Monte Carlo Rally - Citroën Racing officially presents its C3 WRC in Abu Dhabi.
Coming to the new regulations of the FIA, which foresees the introduction of a new generation of World Rally Cars, the C3 WRC announces the return of Citroën that will have between two and four C3 WRC for its crews; Kris Meeke / Paul Nagle, Craig Breen / Scott Martin, Stéphane Lefebvre / Gabin Moreau and Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi / Chris Patterson.
Since its founding in 1919, Citroën has always impressed with its ability to face bold and sporting challenges. In the 1950s, the brand got its first major victories in the rally, although they never achieved the success they deserved.
In 1989, the old racing department was renamed Citroën Sport and took on a major challenge to win the Paris-Dakar Rally. The brand enjoyed success from the outset and in its first attempt in 1991, won the rally with Ari Vatanen. Three more victories, guaranteed by Pierre Lartigue, would continue in 1994, 1995 and 1996. At that time the ZX Grand Raids won 36 of their 42 races and were five times World Rally Cup winners.
The scheme of a WRC program began to take shape with the Xsara Kit-Car. At the end of the 2005 season, Citroën decided to put his sporting compromise on hold for a year while developing the C4 WRC. This new car would allow the brand to add another three titles between 2008 and 2010.
2011 saw the introduction of a new generation of World Rally Cars. The DS 3 was chosen to keep the winning race going and did so with two more titles from manufacturers in 2011 and 2012.
Again, the 2017 season sees the introduction of a new generation of cars designed to be the fastest and most spectacular ever seen in the World Championship stages.
In all areas, the Citroën C3 WRC has pushed back the limits of what has been done in the past. For example, the weight / power ratio of the latest creation of Citroën Racing engineers is 3.1kg / hp, compared to the 3.8 of its predecessor. Since improved efficiency is not just a matter of figures, dramatic technological changes can also be seen in a new width, new aerodynamic characteristics and the four-wheel drive that now comes with a central differential.
The structural design of the Citroën C3 WRC is similar to that of its predecessors. The production casing has been cut to accommodate the composite fiber rear spoiler, cage, transmission tunnel and the secondary frame that supports the chassis and suspension systems.
The C3 WRC is the first World Rally Car of Citroën based on a five-door. Rear doors have been removed, but this configuration requires important work in the design and ergonomics of the car to find the optimum position of the crew, taking into account factors such as weight distribution, visibility and safety.
Among the novelties we also find a turbocharged 1.6-liter engine that develops 380 hp at 6,000 rpm and 400 Nm of torque at 4,500 rpm. As you can see, they are not bad numbers if we consider that the vehicle in question weighs 1,190 kg / 1,350 kg with the crew.
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