WTCC - Citroen entra con Loeb!

[Touareg 2.5]

WCF

Press Release :

CITROËN TO ENTER FIA WTCC WITH SÉBASTIEN LOEB IN 2014

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  [*=left]Citroën confirms entry into the FIA WTCC from 2014 onwards
  [*=left]Sébastien Loeb confirmed as first driver for the new race team
  [*=left]Work has begun in the Versailles technical centre with first tests of the car
  [*=left]Sébastien Loeb: ‘I can’t wait to get out on track in the car and start testing.’
  

After dominating several road-based events around the world for over twenty years, Citroën is now set to turn its attention to track racing, entering the FIA World Touring Car Championship (FIA WTCC) from 2014 onwards. This will be a new challenge for both Citroën Racing and for Sébastien Loeb, who will be driving one of the cars entered in the championship.

Citroën Racing has spent the last few months looking in detail at the opportunity of going ahead with this programme,” revealed Frédéric Banzet, CEO of the Citroën Brand. “The WTCC is based on several aspects that are essential to Citroën: extensive media coverage, regulations that keep costs down and a genuinely global race calendar. Our involvement in this championship will give us not only another chance to showcase our Créative Technologie but it will also help us to develop the Brand in promising, growth markets such as China, Russia and South America. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our longstanding partner, Total, who will remain at our side for this new adventure.”

Citroën Racing’s entry into the world of track racing will coincide with the introduction of a new generation of cars, which are more spectacular than the current crop. “Competing in a category for the first time, starting from scratch, gives our division a superb challenge,” confirmed Yves Matton, Citroën Racing Team Principal. “Having said that, we will be able to re-use a large part of our existing expertise, starting with the DS3 WRC’s 1.6-litre direct injection turbo engine. Work has already begun in our Versailles technical centre and is set to be stepped up in the coming weeks, with the first tests of our car and the start of our development programme to prepare for the 2014 season. Obviously, we’re still committed to rallying and we’ll continue to work hard to try and get the best possible result in 2013. Our partnership with Abu Dhabi is set to be reinforced, enabling us to continue to be involved in WRC with a new system and with new objectives.”

Citroën Racing will be taking part in the entire 2014 FIA WTCC season. After winning nine World Rally Championship Drivers’ titles in a Xsara, C4 and DS3 WRC, Sébastien Loeb has made no secret of his enthusiasm about tackling this challenge with his favourite team: “First of all, I am pleased that this has been confirmed. It’s a bit of a dream to think that we are going to write a new chapter in our history. I can’t wait to get out on track in the car and start testing. I have used this transitional year to try out various experiences and to improve my track driving skills. I don’t expect to win straight away, but I am determined to get there one day.”

WCF

Che auto è ?

[Mauri Q2]

Analizzando la gamma Citroen secondo me una DS4 rivista fino all'ultima vite...comunque Loeb ormai è un vero e proprio monumento dell'automobilismo.

[RiRino]

Azz,molto interessante:D

[AleMcGir]

There's nothing like a solid career in the racing world to boost the appeal of an otherwise, tedious mainstream model like the Citroen C-Elysee, a sister car to Peugeot's 301 compact sedan, created to win the markets of Turkey, Spain, Central Europe and Algeria, among others.

With the DS3 having taken on the gravel-and snow-paved roads and paths of the World Rally Championship, the new Citroën C-Elysée will be entering the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) in 2014. This is the first time that the French brand is participating in the series, but the presence of nine-time World Rally champion Sébastien Loeb, who recently shattered the Pike Peak Hill Climb record, means that if anything else, Citroen will be a very strong contender.

“Choosing C-Elysée as the basis for our WTCC car reflects very clearly our determination to use racing as an active means of supporting our commercial development,” stated Citroen CEO Frédéric Banzet. “With rounds in Latin America, Morocco, China and Russia, the WTCC race calendar is genuinely global, and it will be a real advantage to run a C-Elysée, a key driver of our growth, in front of large crowds of enthusiastic motorsport fans.”

Previewed in these two sketches ahead of world premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show this fall, the C-Elysée WTCC sports a widened body with plenty of spoilers and big 18-inch wheels, with power coming from the same 380bhp 1.6-liter turbo used on the DS3 WRC. Citroen said that the racing model has already entered the testing phase.

[1happydream]

Massima stima per uno dei Campioni piu' grandi di sempre...

[Minosse]

Una C-Elysée!

[LucioFire]

una delle più brutte auto da corsa che io abbia mai visto

[AleMcGir]

Una C-Elysée!

[Minosse]

Il fattore bellezza, nelle competizioni, non è la cosa più importante. In corsa non ci sono auto belle o brutte ma vincenti e perdenti.

[nubironaSW]

Ma no dai esagerato! c'è ben di peggio! del resto anche in sud america la Fiat ha corso nel TC2000 con le Fiat Linea (vincendo anche qualche gara)...

- - - - - - - - - - AGGIUNTA al messaggio già esistente - - - - - - - - - -

Conta di più il fattore marketing infatti. Non credo che la scelta della C-Elysée sia dettata da motivi tecnico-prestazionali.

Evidentemente in Europa non se lo fila più nessuno il WTCC e quindi la scelta è in funzione degli altri mercati...

Dev'essere una discreta bestia comunque..