[WRC] News & rumours (part IV) 2016

[dimviii]

at least we found the most ugly.

and a small video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhXcCGzIdv0

[Fast Eddie WRC]

AutoExpress:

"Citroen has started testing the C3 WRC rally car that will support its-entry to the World Rally Championship in 2017.

The new regulations are designed to make cars faster and more spectacular. The 1.6-litre engine gets a larger air restrictor on the turbocharger to boost power to around 380bhp, the chassis is wider, the transmission is more sophisticated and there’s greater freedom for teams to play around with aerodynamics and wings.

At the heart of Citroen’s campaign - and the development of the new car - is Briton Kris Meeke. The 36-year-old Northern Irishman has a single WRC win to his name, on last year’s Rally Argentina, but he’s shown enough pace over the past couple of seasons for Citroen team boss Yves Matton to place his faith in him.

As we arrive at the test base at Chateau du Lastours in southern France, the new Citroen WRC car itself is covered in a wrap that’s meant to disguise the shape of its panels. The road car on which it’s based hasn’t even been launched yet - indeed, team members won’t even refer to the vehicle by its model code (B618) - but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that it’s a high-performance version of the next-gen Citroen C3.

We’re told that the C3 WRC underwent a brief shakedown at a track next door to Citroen Racing’s factory earlier in the week; today, 14th April, marks its first outing on gravel and in real anger. The venue could scarcely be more challenging, either; Chateau Lastours has long been used by rally teams to ‘break in’ new machinery, with the emphasis firmly on ‘break’. It’s a network of rock-strewn gravel tracks that will give the C3 a proper pounding, allowing engineers to test for durability as well as speed.

There’s silent anticipation in the service area after the mechanics send Meeke on his way for the very first run. The C3 is the first Citroen rally car in well over a decade that hasn’t had input from Loeb in its design - so the guys in the red overalls are keen to see potential.

Meeke himself, who will undertake the bulk of the test mileage along with Frenchman Stephane Lefebvre and Irishman Craig Breen, is a bit more patient. “It’s a dream come true for to me to work with such a great team and help them to develop the car,” he says during a mid-morning coffee break. “It brings pressure, of course, but I don’t really feel it; instead, I walk around here or at the factory and see the guys, see their determination and belief, and it just makes me feel proud. And a wee bit excited.

“We have to also accept that this is just the start of a real learning process,” he adds. “Our whole engineering philosophy is different from what we had on the DS 3, but the rules are changing as well. So when I’m getting a feel for the car, I need to split the bits that we’ve changed and created from the bits that are down to the new regulations. I can tell you this, though: it feels faster.”

It looks faster too. Over a 2.5-mile stage through dust-strewn tracks that twist between the wind turbines of Chateau Lastours, the C3 WRC has a noticeably angrier engine note than the current crop of rally cars. There’s a shotgun-rifle bang under hard-acceleration gearshifts but the engine note is also much quicker to rise up through the revs - a result, no doubt, of the turbocharger working more effectively with its larger air restrictor.

The car does seem to be airborne for a fair amount of the time, though. “The first run was just to try soft tyres,” says Meeke with a wry smile. “Then we stuck on some hard-compound ones for comparison. Once that’s over with we’ll get on with tuning the dampers and the differential to really improve the handling.”

The first morning of action goes well, though - which is to say that there is plenty of untroubled mileage (around 75 miles, by all accounts, without drama) and a good enough base for playing with settings. “To get the first morning in without a sniff of a tow-rope is a great start,” says Meeke.

As we depart, he and the Citroen engineers are settling in for a few more days of experimentation. There’s a long road ahead - particularly for the driver, who is focusing on the testing but also tackling a limited number of rallies this year to keep his hand in. But in the depths of the French countryside, you can feel a mix of euphoria and relief that the early miles are over and the serious business of making the Citroen C3 WRC ready for the Monte Carlo Rally in January 2017 can begin."

[Francis44]

Looks can be deceiving but I find it amazing that they can make that slab faster than the DS3.

[Simmi]

If this car can take the fight to the Polos then it will be beautiful.

[Lundefaret]

The dynamics look similar to the Xsara, I wonder about dimensions compared to that.

[the sniper]

some good pictures here too http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-new...for-2017-glory


i dont why but i actually like it, lol

While I was initially a bit shocked by the look of this big hippo on wheels, its appearance is already starting to grow on me, tbh! I think these Auto Express pictures do it more favours than the pictures elsewhere.

[dimviii]

new small video from Citroen racing.At least sounds lovely.
https://twitter.com/CitroenRacing?lang=el

[N.O.T]

Sounds and looks good...

Did makinen test his Flop ?? or he is still compiling the list of his finish friends that has not yet include on the feast sponsored by Toyota ??

[AP-Racing]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk3xnfq33bg

[Mirek]

new small video from Citroen racing.At least sounds lovely.
https://twitter.com/CitroenRacing?lang=el

I love twitter... I clicked on Your link and since then I had whole twitter in Greek language without seeing anything resembling a possibility to switch into English. I had to delete cookies to get it English again. Not that I had anything again Greece...