Auto Blitz: Citroen DS3

Showing posts with label Citroen DS3. Show all posts

Paris Show: Citroën Unleashes DS3 WRC Contender

Joining the world premieres of the MINI Countryman WRC and Ford Fiesta RS WRC at the 2010 Paris Motor Show, is Citroën's all-new contender for the 2011 World Rally Championship, the DS3 WRC in full racing livery.

Ooohweee, does Citroën know how to get this pale, pajama-wearing, cries-himself-to-sleep-every-night hippie blogger interested. Screw match-dot-com, we've got a car dating service now. The French brand know for its wild and out of this world concepts (see GTbyCitroën, Survolt, Revolte, etc.) has created a new form of match-up for the car enthusiast called Dating 2.0, and it's one nifty little time-waster.

Following on from its world premiere (in pre-production form) at the Geneva Salon this past March, Citroën has released full details with the final performance specs and pricing on its limited edition DS3 Racing hot hatch.

Citroën is looking to take on the rally circuit with its new DS3 R3, homologated for FIA's new Group R3T regulations. "Versatile, high performance and yet affordably-priced, DS3 R3 is set to become the new leader in its category," says the French carmaker about its rally-prepped DS3 that will be available in both in kit and ready-to-race versions.

Featuring the same structural design and appearance as the production model, with the steel body shell reinforced by a welded, multi-point roll cage, the DS3 R3 Rally car comes with an upgraded 1.6-litre turbocharged inline-four producing 210bhp and 350Nm / 258.2 lb-ft of peak torque.

Taking valuable marketing lessons from Fiat and its highly successful Nuovo 500 mini, Citroen is constantly finding ways to promote its new DS3 hatchback. This time, the French carmaker dressed up several DS3s with a black rooftop featuring the "YSL" (Yves Saint Laurent) logo and other special trim options.

The special edition DS3s, which won't go on sale, were used to charter special guests at the opening of the retrospective exhibition of Saint Laurent's entire body of work at the Petit Palais museum on Wednesday. More photos after the jump.

Here's the first official video clip of the limited edition Citroen DS3 Racing that will be formally introduced at the Geneva Motor Show next week. A creation of Citroen's Racing division that handles the firm's World Rally Championship cars, the DS3 Racing will be produced in a strictly limited number of 1,000 units.

The hottest variant yet of the French automaker's premium supermini is powered by a tweaked version of the BMW-PSA Citroen Peugeot co-developed 1.6-liter turbocharged engine that's also used on the rivaling MINI Cooper JCW model. In the DS3 Racing, the 1.6 THP delivers an output of 200HP.

Citroen is aiming directly at MINI John Cooper Work's territory with its scorching hot new DS3 Racing sport model that will make its world premiere at next month's Geneva Motor Show.

Developed by Citroen's Racing division that handles the French firm's WRC cars, the special edition version of the DS3 hatch comes with a beefed up 1.6-liter turbo engine, modified chassis and a bevy of styling upgrades. It will go on sale in the second half of the year with production limited to 1,000 units.

Power comes from a tuned version of the standard model's Peugeot-Citroen PSA and BMW Group co-developed 1.6-liter turbocharged four. Citroen Racing's engineers modified and optimized the powertrain components, tuned the turbo, reconfigured the ECU and added a special tail pipe and muffler.

These upgrades boost the engine's output from 156HP and 240Nm to 200HP and 275Nm or 202.8 lb-ft of peak torque.

A few months ahead of the DS3's market launch in Spring 2010, Citroen has released UK prices and specification details as well as a dedicated online configurator for its new premium supermini. The first model from Citroën's new DS line, which will gradually consist of three cars including the larger DS4 and DS5, will be offered in three new trim levels, DSign, DStyle and DSport, with a choice of three petrol and two HDi diesels ranging from 90hp to 150hp.

Prices for the three-door hatchback will start in the UK from £11,700 (about €13,200 or US$18,900) for the petrol 1.4 VTi 95hp in DSign trim and top out at £18,775 (around €21,000 or US$30,300) for what Citroen describes as, "a fully specified, fully personalized" DSport model powered by the BMW co-developed 1.6-liter turbo petrol unit with 150-horsepower.

As with the BMW Group's MINI, one of the DS3's closest rivals, the French automaker will offer buyers of the car an extensive choice of customizable design and convenience options.

*Click here for the DS3 configurator -

PS: We hope you don't mind our choice of photos from Citroen's DS3 album...

Citroen Readying DS3 R3 Rally Car - First Photos

The production version of Citroen's all-new DS3 was only just revealed at last month's Frankfurt Show, but the French automaker is already working on a rally version of its three-door supermini. Pictured here during testing on dry tarmac, the DS3 rally car is said to be homologated for Group R3. There's nothing official yet on Citroen's site but the photos show a stripped out DS3 featuring a full roll cage, boot and roof scoops along with rally-spec tires and alloy wheels. We'll keep an eye on this story for any developments by until then, hit the jump for more pictures.

Via: Racingpassion