WTCC – The first image of the Citroën C-Elysée revealed!

For a few days, Citroën Racing made us salivate with little photos and D?a video trailer. The French team has finally lifted the veil on the C-Elysée WTCC, Sébastien's new weapon Loeb, who will accompany him during his next challenge, on the circuit, in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC).

Month €320.00 after presenting his new plans for the future, Citroën announces the color. As we had already announced to you in AUTOhebdo n°1916 dated July 3, the chevron brand has chosen the C-Elysée model to tackle the WTCC and the circuits, after having shone for several years in WRC. By revealing itself to the world this Wednesday, the C-Elysée at the same time becomes the first car designed entirely in accordance with the new technical regulations which will sanction the discipline next year.

“The choice of the C-Elysée as the base model to build our WTCC car very concretely illustrates our desire to use competition as active support for our commercial development”, underlines Frédéric Banzet, Managing Director of Citroën. “With rounds in Latin America, Morocco, China and Russia, the WTCC calendar is truly global and it will be a real asset to run a C-Elysée, a key vector of our growth in front of audiences passionate about motorsport. . »

Nearly 380 horses

“From a strictly technical point of view, the choice of a three-box bodywork was ideal in terms of aerodynamics. Therefore, the choice of the C-Elysée suits us perfectly,” adds Xavier Mestelan-Pinon, Technical Director of Citroën Racing. “Beyond this aspect, we were able to implement the different components quite easily. As this is our first track car, we constantly have to ask ourselves questions about the relevance of our choices, but that's what makes the challenge particularly exciting. »

Under the hood, as expected, we will find the same engine that already powers the DS3 in the WRC, i.e. a 1.6 turbo block with direct injection. But the C-Elysée is more powerful and its engine is around 380 hp, thanks to a more generous supercharging flange.

Note that the car has already completed its first laps a few days ago, specifies Citroën Racing. Now starting a development test program, before the C-Elysée makes its first major public appearance. It will be from September 12 to 22 at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

>> All images of the Citroën C-Elysée WTCC in our photo gallery.