World Rally Championship

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VisaGTi16v
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World Rally Championship

Post by VisaGTi16v »

The French round of the WRC has just finished and Sebastian Loeb has won the title for Citroen and also with Sainz's 3rd place, Citroen managed to tie up the Manufacturers title for the second year in a row. Woo!!! [:)]
Stuart McB
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Post by Stuart McB »

He'd still only get a small trade in at any used car dealer if he rolled up in a Citroen. Once again it's just like Skoda, all those rally wins and the jokes came thick and fast but who's laughing now eh! Citroen may have it's critics but you always see more horror stories involving Rovers.
s1zx
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Post by s1zx »

Its funny you read all these reviews in magazines on how bad the xsara chassis is old and flimsy and no good and that the 307 is much better and people buy that and they dont get the citroen is a 2 times wrc winner and the 307 is nowhere. Although its nice of pug to develop the c4 wrc for next year.
VisaGTi16v
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Post by VisaGTi16v »

well the wrc cars are nothing like the road cars. The chassis dimensions are the same and the engine block is externally the same but thats about it. Chassis will be strengthened amazingly not to mention the roll cages etc making them stiffer. Cant compare a wrc car to a road car in the slightest...which does make it weird that Citroen even entered the wrc when they havnt done a mad performance road car for many years. The C4 Vts will be the first for ages
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Post by jeremy »

There are a number of aspects to Ctroen's rallying that I find surprising. the sucess is undoubted and must be the envy of all the other teams especially as this is only citroen's second full year.
What I find really surprising is how little they have made of it. if you look at both the Uk and French websites you have to struggle to find out anything about the rallying, its never mentioned in the current adverts and the only bit I've seen was the appearance of the rallycar in a showroom in an advert about last Christmas. While I can understand that your C% purchaser may not be impressed by these things surely the Saxo is aimed at the youth market and such things would I have thought created some interest with them at least.
I'm pleased at last there are some hot Citroens on the way and must find out more about them. In the meantime I must cngratulate Citroen on what really is an amazing feat with the rally cars. If you are in any doubt have a look at the championship tables - currently 1st and 4 th in the drivers championship - Loeb 108 points, 2nd Solberg (Subaru) 78 points. Constructors championship - Citroen 178 points, 2nd, Ford 127 points.
The xara rallycar has its unusual hydraulic linked suspension and from what I can see I think it has more in common with BMC Hydrolastic than the Citroen hydraulics we know and love. The difference is that the wheels on each side seem to be linked rather than independant as with the normal Citroen system.
Jeremy
Stuart McB
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Post by Stuart McB »

Can I just say this. A mate at work has bought a Subaru with all the bits. It has every option on it. He's even been on one of these off road rally type weeks ends you can get (been on the 4X4 one great weekend spent in the mud). Any how since it's curtesy service at 500 mile it just ain't worked properly. Now he aint taken the car any futher than work and back say 40 miles a day. It fails to start from cold or hot. Engine smokes on exceleration, electrical gremlins, dash bulbs out, very, very heavy fuel comsumption the list goes on. Quess what the dealer has said? thats right "we cant find any codes on the diagnostics sir" I told him that his dealer must have trained at Citroen. I think that car manufactures get a little complacent over time and then it bites them on the bum. Any body remember Alfa's that desolved at the sight of water? well it's taken near on 20 years for them to get a decent write up in the motoring mags now. Citroen though never really making a car as bad as Alfa once did do have this reputation for querkyness and this puts people off. I rather take a chance with Citroen or Renault that Subaru or say Rover.
martyhopkirk

Post by martyhopkirk »

I had an Alfasud once, and also an Alfa Arna - Both disolved overnight into a pile of Orange Mush.
Ahh, how i miss them both!
Stuart McB
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Post by Stuart McB »

At least it was clasy Italian mush (ha, ha). I can remember the feeling of looking at an 'X' reg black Alfa Sud 1.5 Sprint, green clover leaf back in 1986. It had the classic wooden steering wheel with a part vinle interior. I took my dad to see it, £1499 and the dealer was kean to sell it to me. Dad had gotten an insurance quote for me, 18 years old third party fire & theft £320. I swore never to pay over £300 for insurance ever!!!! (fat chance Mr TAX man). As for the car well Dad jus showed me a couple of other sporty Alfa's on the way to view. The tim worm was a greedy little bas***d in those days.
Stuart McB
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Post by Stuart McB »

Also forgot. Wasn't the Alfa Arna a re-badged Nissan Cherry?
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Post by VisaGTi16v »

not sure but I remeber there was one car they made together that had the looks of a nissan with the reliability of a alfa which was completly the wrong way around
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Post by RichardR »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by jeremy</i>

What I find really surprising is how little they have made of it.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">I was thinking the same thing just the other day. My local dealer has no references to the WRC victories, and there was never a road going WRC type version that I'm aware of. When you consider what it did for Subaru's reputation it does seem like a missed opportunity. After all, if they're not in it for the publicity, why're they bothering with the WRC at all (although I'm glad they are!)?
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Stuart McB</i>

Also forgot. Wasn't the Alfa Arna a re-badged Nissan Cherry?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">Yes it was! That's got to rank as the worst tie-up ever!
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