We already knew Citroen was going to participate in next year's World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), they even announced it last month, but until now we all thought it would be the DS3 that was going to take in this series since we saw it being tested. Now, it seems that isn't true, Citroen will use the C-Elysée instead.
The C-Elysée is a car aimed at a few markets like those in Latin America, the Mediterranean region, China and Russia, and since the WTCC will be in many of those regions, it makes sense to have the three-box saloon body of this car as the one taking part in this racing series.
The driver will be Sébastien Loeb and he will be driving the first vehicle to be designed in accordance with the new regulations. It has the same turbocharged 1.6-liter engine found in the DS3 WRC but in the C-Elysée WTCC it generates around 385PS (380bhp or 283kW). The front wheels are driven by a six-speed sequential gearbox.
The public presentation will take place at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show in September but testing has already begun. This is more significant because the normal C-Elysée is already 30% ahead of its initial sales target, with 30,000 orders placed so far, making it a big success for the French company.
Source: Citroen
