Citroen News

Without saying so, the French are clearly eyeing the Mini as the main rival for its newest hatch. Its quirky styling, floating roof, `shark fin' B-pillar and inset LED lights in the front bumper scream the type of individuality made popular by BMW when it launched the new Mini. Like the Mini, DS3 buyers will also be able to personalise their cars with different exterior, roof and rearview mirror colours, as well as painted alloy wheels. This customization continues on the inside where buyers will be able to choose various interior trims and colours. Citroen says the DS3 is not only good looking but versatile. The dashboard is set high up to increase leg room and it says the slim-back seats and wagon-style rear free up room in the back. The car has a 285-litre boot with a 60/40 split-fold rear seat. Compared to the Mini, the DS3 is 251mm longer, 27mm wider and 53mm higher but shares the British car's engaging looks. The DS3 makes its world debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show and arrives here in the second half of next year. Pricing and specifications are yet to be finalized, but buyers can expect it land close to the Mini's $33,000 price point. Like the Mini, DS3 buyers will have a choice of turbo-diesel, as well as petrol four cylinder engines, driving the front wheels. In Europe the car will be available with two HDi turbo-diesels and three petrol engines that meet Euro V emission rules. The HDi engines develop 68kW and 82kW while the petrol models include a 70kW and 90kW VTi four, as well as a 112kW turbo petrol. The engines will be mated to five-speed and six-speed manuals with automatics to follow. The DS3 will also spawn a range of up-market models and will be followed by the DS4 and DS5. In a veiled poke at the Mini, Citroen Australia general manager, Miles Williams says the DS3 represents a fresh new approach to small cars. “Existing models in this new prestige sub-sector have put the emphasis on performance and lack that flexibility and versatility that DS3 provides,” he says.

Like the fact that in 1934 it was the first front-wheel drive car (traction avant is French for front-wheel drive), its engine had overhead valves not side valves like most at the time, it had torsion bar suspension and a monocoque chassis and in 1937 was the first with rack-and-pinion steering. "I like things that are a bit different," he says. Wade's obsession with Citroens started "by accident". His first restored car was a 1930s Mercedes-Benz 150 S which he sold when he was offered "a fair price". He was on the lookout for another old car to restore when his father stumbled on an old Citroen Traction Avant. Believing it was a rare 1937 model, they bought it only to be told later by a Citroen Car Club historian that it was a French-made 1951 "Light 15" (15 horsepower). They paid $1000 for it, sold it in 1984 for $3500 and bought it back again 10 years ago for $6000. "I've since spent about $10,000 on it and have a fair bit to go," he says. His restoration has included "de-modernising" the car by replacing blinker lights with pop-up indicators, removing seat belts and restoring the single taillight. It's not the only Traction Avant in his garage. The other is a rare gem. "We were looking around for bits and pieces to restore the '51 and ended up buying a restored '48 and '40s wreck," he says. The wreck turned out to be a very rare Avant Light 15 1940 model that was built in October 1939. "Because of the war, parts were scarce, so only 400 were built," he says. They were divided up into several models: Roadsters, Light 12, Light 15, Big 15 (wider and longer) and Big 6 (six cylinder). "There are only two Light 15s left in the world. The other one is owned by an Argentinian pilot who I speak with occasionally," he says. "I didn't realise it was so rare when I bought it." The car is insured for $25,000, but Wade believes it could be worth a lot more. Traction Avants were made in Paris and in Slough, England, from where Australia got most of its models. Wade explains that the English models were better equipped but cheaper because they had more than 50 per cent parts from the UK, such as all Lucas electrics, which meant they qualified for lower Commonwealth import tariffs into Australia. Of the 750,000 Traction Avants built, only 26,000 were made in England, making them rarer. Wade said the UK cars had leather upholstery, chrome headlights, carpets and wood trim while the French-made cars had rubber mats on the floor, plastic trim and cloth seats. Wade's passion for the French marque extends throughout his backyard shed which also houses a 1977 GS Pallas, 2007 C5, 1996 Xantia, 1978 GS Pallas and 1980 Visa. Wade claims the Visa is also a rarity as one of only two left in Australia; the other being in Melbourne. His Visa was owned by rally legend Jim Reddiex and features a two-cylinder, 650cc engine like in the 2CV. "The trouble is there are too many cars here to choose from," he says. "That is what you tend to do with Citroens." Wade will show his Traction Avants at a 75th anniversary celebration at Cleveland Park in Brisbane on September 27. Among the 20-odd cars expected is one that ran in the 1954 Redex Trial.

SIMON and Sue Evans won back the Australian Rally Championship crown with a double success in Adelaide last weekend. The former Toyota team members lost out to Corolla driver Neal Bates in 2008, but turned the tables this year driving a privately-entered Mitsubishi Lancer which they used to dominate the title decider in Adelaide and claim a third national crown.TEAM Red is opening the doors at its Clayton race base for the first time with the inaugural Toll Holden Racing Team family day on September 20. The event, from 10am to 3pm, will give fans access to the four race cars from Walkinshaw Racing, as well as displays of Holden concept cars, interactive displays and autograph sessions with Garth Tander, Will Davison, Paul Dumbrell and David Reynolds.RYAN Briscoe began his push towards the Indy Racing League championship with a nail-biting victory under lights at Kentucky on the weekend. He beat Ed Carpenter by only 0.016s to score his second victory of the season for Team Penske as the championship moves into its final half-dozen races, with Briscoe holding a narrow points lead.Jay Marmont repeated as Australian motocross champion when he took the final round of the Pro Open class championship on the Sunshine Coast last weekend on his Yamaha YZ450F. Luke Styke also took the under-19 championship, Tori Dare dominated in the women's championship and Darryll King completed a clean sweep of the veteran's series. KIM Jane celebrated his 150th start as a V8 Ute racer in the best possible way, winning at Sandown on Sunday in the third of three starts for the Aussie fan favourites. Jane is now fifth in the ute championship, as Jack Elsegood leads from defending champion Layton Crambrook and Gary Baxter.MIKKO Hirvonen was the predictable winner of his home event, Rally Finland, with a victory which extends his points lead over five-time champion Sebastian Loeb in the race to the 2009 World Rally Championship. Hirvonen drove his Ford Focus to first place with a solid margin over Loeb's Citroen, with his Finnish team mate Jari- Matti Latvala third in another Ford.AUDI swept the latest leg of the German Touring Car Championship with a 1-2-3 result headed by defending champion Timo Scheider. The best of the Mercedes runners was Paul di Resta.BLAKE 'Bilko' Williams took a gold and silver from the freestyle motocross events at X-Games 15 in Los Angeles. After taking the runner- up spot in the Best Trick competition with a '360 Indian air' and no- hands landing he got to the top in the Moto-X Freestyle competition, taking a one-point win after three runs.CITROEN has extended its involvement in the World Rally Championship until at least the end of 2011, even though its lead driver Sebastian Loeb could soon be headed to Formula One with the Toro Rosso team.There is no news yet on the technical regulations beyond 2010, with a major change planned but rival camps pressing either for simpler and cheaper S2000 cars or a switched to turbocharged 1.6-litre engines in existing World Rally Cars.A re-run of the 1970 Repco Reliability Trial begins today (Aug 8) when 40 rally cars built before 1980 leave the Melbourne Showgrounds on the way to Kingoonya. Several of the special stages from '79 will be used on an eight-day course set by the Historic Rally Association. 

...as Europe and Japan push ahead with some cutting edge designs. Apart from the Citroen GT, the Mercedes-Benz SLS, Ferrari 458 Italia, Audi R8 V10 supercars and affordable Honda CR-Z and Peugeot RCZ,

Get the sunscreen out because Citroen has the answer for all those sun-worshippers. A panoramic windscreen will be standard on the new C3 when it lobs in Australia in 12 months. The French carmaker has borrowed the panorama windscreen idea from its C4 Picasso people mover, called the Zenith, and given the new C3 an expansive view of the world. Combined with slimmer A-pillars, the exceptionally long windscreen expands the front occupants’ field of vision by up to 80 per cent. But those worried about excessive glare need not worry. The glass has a progressive tint that smooths the transition from the clear frontal view to providing sun protection from above. Like the Picasso, large visors can be flipped forward to block out the sun. A five-door will arrive first in Europe with a coupe and Pluriel convertibles planned. Ateco Automotive Pty Ltd spokesman, Edward Rowe, says it is too early to talk specifications or pricing for the new five-door hatch but he expects it to be competitive. Pricing and drivetrains Pricing is tipped to be close to the current car, around $23,990. Australia is expected to get a range of four-cylinder petrol and HDi diesel units but is unlikely to get the newer frugal three-cylinder engines planned for Europe that emit less than 100g/km of CO2. "These cars are designed for tax regimes that do not exist in Australia," Rowe says. Appearance and fit-out On the outside, the C3 adopts an evolutionary approach to its design but borrows some cues from the DS Concept hatch. It gets a flatter roofline, more pronounced grille and headlight treatment. Inside the trim moves up a notch in quality, with new materials like a thermo-coated colour dash, highlighted with grey or gloss brushed aluminium and chrome detailing. In Europe, the C3 five-door hatch is one of the most compact vehicles in its segment. At 3940mm long, the new car is 90mm longer while width has grown 43mm while luggage space remains around 300 litres. Citroen has managed to keep the C3's weight the same as the outgoing model while its turning circle has been reduced from 10.7m to 10.2m. Equipment Other fuel-saving features are second-generation stop-start systems, plus new five and six-speed electronic gearboxes. In-car features include USB connectivity, iPod compatibility, Bluetooth and satellite navigation on high-end European versions. Citroen has sold more than 2 million C3s globally but apart from Citroen fans here, the car has not sold in strong numbers locally. Last year, just 423 were sold, against a 2007 figure of 696. The current 1.6-litre HDi turbo diesel has hybrid busting fuel economy of 4.4 litres/100km and CO2 emissions of just 120g/km.  

CHAD Reed hit another major milestone in his American motocross career when he scored his first outdoor race win on a 450-class bike last weekend in Pennsylvania. After a pair of third-place results, the indoor supercross star qualified fourth and completed a 1-1 sweep that also moving him to the top of the championship pointscore with his Makita-Rock Star Suzuki.A monster off-track shakeup has changed the operation of V8 Supercar racing. CEO Cameron Levich is out, chairman Tony Cochrane will run the day-to-day operations as caretaker CEO until the end of the year, Mark Skaife has joined the board as an independent and technical chief Campbell Little is working through a three-month notice period after tendering his resignation.A lacklustre 31st place was all Marcos Ambrose could take home from the high-speed Sprint Cup battle at Michigan International Raceway last weekend. Ambrose had a tail-happy car all weekend and only qualified 33rd after a string of recent top-10 efforts in his Toyota Camry, although he still holds 20th place after 15 races on this year's Nascar circuit.AUSTRALIAN co-drivers Dale Moscatt and Glenn MacNeal were close to the front at the Acropolis Rally in Greece, as world title leader Sebastian Loeb made a rare mistake and handed victory to Ford's Mikko Hirvonen after destroying his Citroen C4 in a massive crash. MacNeal took 10th place and third in Group N production cars with Japan's Toshi Arai in a Subaru Impreza as Moscatt guided Russian teenager Evgeny Novikov to four fastest stage times and a points place in a privately entered Citroen C4.DICK Johnson is now officially an icon. The retired touring car racer was one of 150 icons named by the Queensland government last week, joining a list which included everything from barbecues to sunshine after votes from 30,000 Queenslanders.JAMIE Whincup and Steven Johnson teamed up for a surprising off-track success on the Gold Coast last week. The two V8 Supercar stars, who are deadly rivals on the track, combined in a B-grade indoor cricket team _ the Tank Slappers _ to take their championships with a convincing win.A major innovation has come to the Australian Rally Championship with a top-10 shootout ahead of the next round in Adelaide on July 31-August 2. The Pedders No Bull Shootout will match the top-10 seeded drivers over a single special stage for additional title points a $1000 prize ahead of the two-day main event. 

Taking a lead from Toyota's work with Lexus, which sits above its boring basic models, the French carmaker is returning the DS badge to its showrooms with a luxury tweak.The DS3 will be first into action and will be followed by the larger DS4 and DS5.Citroen has previewed the upmarket action plan with more details on its DS Inside concept car, which points both to the exterior styling and cabin layout of the future cars. It is based on the regular C3, but with a bolder body and much more luxury on the inside.Citroen says the idea is to focus on modernity and distinction, with a 'different spirit' supplied by British designer Mark Lloyd.The cabin of the DS3 Inside is a major departure from the black- plastic slab look of most current Citroens. There is a leather roof lining, a sweet sweep across the dash with dials outlined in black chrome, and a new style of central console.Citroen has also added leather seats with more shape and support, as well as deep-pile carpet, claiming the result is 'flowing and airy'with added 'dynamism'."It will present an identity strong on modernity and distinction, drawing its DNA clearly from Citroen's history of innovation and unforgettable design," the company says.The production version of the DS3 will hit showrooms in Europe in the middle of next year and the car is already confirmed for Austrlaia."The DS3 is one of three DS models, the others being DS4 and DS5, that will represent a separate range of premium models," says Citroen's Australian spokesman, Edward Rowe.There is no timing yet for the DS4 and DS5 but they should also be in the lineup within 18 months. 

Power play Will Power was the best-placed Australian in the Indianapolis 500, finishing fifth for Penske as his team mate Helio Castroneves took his third victory at the Brickyard. Power was in contention for a while but faded like Ryan Briscoe, who only managed 15th after a tyre problem ten a late fuel stop for the third Penske car dropped him way back in the pack.Latvala bests Loeb CRASH-prone Jari-Matti Latvala finally ended Sebastian Loeb's winning streak in the world rally championship with victory in Sardinia last weekend. Latvala was helped when Loeb lost a minute changing a tyre then another four with a penalty, but still came home on top in his Ford Focus with his team mate Mikko Hirvonen second and Petter Solberg third in his private Citroen.Kelly joins 100 Club RICK Kelly becomes the youngest member of the '100 Club' this weekend in Tasmania when he makes his 100th V8 Supercar start with Jack Daniels Racing. Ironically, the former champion will be taking the 'youngest' title from his older brother, Todd.Castroneves wins pitstop challenge HELIO Castroneves got an early victory in Indy 500 week when he and his Penske team won the pitstop challenge. The team took just 7.962 seconds to change four tyres in the final, when they beat Marco Andretti of Andretti-Green Racing, but they needed to set a record of 7.636 seconds in the semi-final to beat their Penske team mates on Ryan Briscoe's car.Davison improves JAMES Davison was sixth in the Indy Lights curtain-raiser to the Indy 500, four places better than his starting spot for the event. "A sixth-place finish is definitely nothing to be ashamed of," Davison says.Finke practice for Dakar team BRUCE Garland and Harry Suzuki begin their build-up to the 2010 Dakar Rally next month with a start in Australia's biggest off-road event, the Finke Desert Race at Alice Springs. The Isuzu D-Max crew will be out to better their 11th place in this year's Dakar and, as one of the favourites for the Finke, intend to test new go-fast parts during the Northern Territory sprint.Martin solid in Monaco Australia's A1GP regular John Martin took a solid 12th at Monaco in his first Renault 3.5 race. The youngster is looking for more openwheel experience and took up a guest drive in one of the supporting races at the biggest F1 event of the season.FIA GT and DTM on TV THE motorsport content on the new ONE HD channel has been boosted by coverage of two classes not previously seen in Australia. The FIA GT series, for road-going sports cars, and the DTM, or German touring car championship, have just been added to the channel for their 2009 seasons.GT race joins V8 Supercar rounds GT sports cars have joined the support race program for the two biggest V8 Supercar events of 2009. The Australian GT championship will now run on the undercard at the Bathurst 1000 and the new Telstra 500 at Homebush in Sydney.

RYAN Briscoe has slipped to second in the IndyCar championship chase after a fourth-place finish behind defending champion Scott Dixon at Kansas Speedway last weekend. Briscoe led for more than 50 laps in his Team Penske racer and managed to improve three spots from his starting position.CHAD Reed must win the grand final of the AMA and World Supercross series in Las Vegas this weekend to have any chance of beating James Stewart to the crown, after a controversial second-place finish last weekend in Salt Lake City. Reed was badly baulked by Stewart's team mate as they battled for top spot in the second-last round of the series, although the Australian refused to blame the incident for another second-place finish behind Stewart on his Rockstar Suzuki.CASEY Stoner was only fourth on his Ducati as Jorge Lorenzo took a surprise win for Yamaha at the Japanese MotoGP at Motegi. Lorenzo led home Valentino Rossi and Honda's Dani Pedrosa.SEBASTIAN Loeb and Daniel Elana stretched their unbeaten run in this year's World Rally Championship to five events when they took an easy victory in Argentina last weekend, with their Citroen C4 team mate Dani Sordo following them home. Loeb's job was made much easier when his only potential title rival, Mikko Hirvonen of Ford, retired with engine trouble.JAMES Davison finished where he started in the latest race of the Indy Lights series in the USA. He qualified eighth and was in the same slot at the finish of the oval race at Kansas Speedway.CHRIS Atkinson will be back in a rally car on the weekend of May 8-10 when he drives a Subaru in Rally Queensland. But it's not what the World Rally Championship refugee really wants, as he will only be the course car for his home event in this year's Australian championship, currently led by defending title holder Neal Bates in his Corolla.WARREN Luff is back with Dick Johnson for this year's V8 Supercar enduro races. The former fulltimer with the Queensland team has been signed to race again for Jim Beam Racing at Phillip Island and Bathurst, with Jonathan Webber filling the final endurance seat for the team alongside James Courtney and Steven Johnson.JOEY Foster extended his lead in the Australian Formula 3 championship when the Shannons Nationals classes competed at Wakefield Park in NSW last weekend. The latest English raider got the job done despite 2007 champion Tim Macrow taking a race from him, with Garry Holt and Adam Wallis also on the winners' list in the Australian manufacturers championship and the V8 touring car series.TALENTED young co-driver Rhianon Smyth has earned a big break with a spot in this year's Asia-Pacific rally championship. Smyth, who has done most of her work alongside her brother Brendan Reeves in the Australian series, was chosen by Emma Gilmour as her partner in a Subaru WRX STi for this year's Asia-Pacific series, starting with Rally Queensland next week. 

Mini people movers are expected to be the ‘next big thing’ in Europe but don't expect the trend to cross continents. Citroen's C3 Picasso has won major awards in Europe and is set to outsell a host of rivals including the Fiat Idea, Opel/Vauxhall Meriva, Ford Fusion and Nissan Note. But Australian importers Ateco Automotive has gone quiet on a local launch for the baby Picasso. The main problem, says Ateco spokesman Edward Rowe, is the lack of a self-shifting gearbox. Australians increasingly demand automatics and at the moment, Citroen can't supply one. But, says Rowe, there could be hope when Citroen starts its next generation C3, expected late next year. If the new C3 comes with an automatic gearbox, Mr Rowe believes the Picasso variant will make a sensible addition to the marque's Australian lineup. "The mini people mover market is big in Europe, and expected to get bigger, not only because of traffic congestion issues but because they attract a lower tax. "Australia doesn't have that incentive so people ill buy it for different reasons. There is also no rival for the C3 Picasso in Australia so we would be creating our own segment, if you like." The only thing close to the C3 Picasso would be the recently-released Kia Soul. Based on global needs for a space-efficient, frugal and affordable family car, the C3 Picasso looks good on paper. Citroen says it "unites the parallels of cubes and curves" to combine the character of an MPV and hatchback. At 500-litres, its boot is one of the biggest in the business. The split rear seats can fold flat and independently slide forwards. Drop the seats down and luggage space grows to 1506 litres to carry loads up to 2.4m long. Europe sells three trim levels — the entry-level VT; the more upmarket VTR+ that adds airconditioning and alloy wheels; and the Exclusive that gets more luxurious trim plus practical features including a flat-folding front passenger seat and a removable boot light torch. The C3 Picasso, which went on sale in the UK last week, is available with a choice of two petrol engines — co-developed with BMW — the VTi 95 and VTi 120 and two HDi diesels — the HDi 90 and HDi 110 DPFS. Safety starts with ABS brakes with EBD and brakes assist, up to six airbags, Isofix anchor points and a seatbelt monitor system. Electronic stability control with a traction control system is optional.