Yesterday the third-generation Citroen C3 was unveiled, and it now appears as though Citroen is working on a road-going version of the 2017 C3-based WRC entrant.
Xavier Peugeot, product director at Citroen, hinted to Autocar that the French brand is working on a street legal derivative based on next year’s World Rally Championship competitor.
It’s not clear how closely related this sporting variant of the C3 will be to the WRC car. Given current trends, a turbocharged engine is almost a certainty, but all-wheel-drive and pumped up wheel arches may or may not be on the spec sheet.
Peugeot stated that the WRC-inspired C3 will be targeted at younger buyers, but will probably be the sole performance model in Citroen’s lineup.
Peugeot and Linda Jackson, Citroen’s CEO, also outlined some of the brand’s plans to the magazine. Stylistically, Citroen will be “attractive, fresh and modern”, and “different, but not crazy”.
As far as product goes, Citroen is planning on having eight models available across the globe, with China receiving unique or restyled models, such as the new, more conservatively styled C6.
This number excludes DS vehicles, as it is now counted as a standalone marque in markets, such as Europe, New Zealand and China, but not Australia.
In 2018 the company will launch a France-built crossover based on the Aircross concept. This will be followed up by two electric vehicles co-developed with Dongfeng, with a Fiesta-class EV due in 2019 and a Golf-class EV coming in 2020.