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11 Dec 2020
THE C3 R5 BECOMES THE C3 RALLY2 WITH A NEW VISUAL IDENTITY AND A PACKAGE OF UPGRADES
A new name, a new look and a new logo: in 2021, the C3 Rally 2 is getting a serious facelift! Citroën Racing’s philosophy remains steadfast, however: offer its customers an increasingly competitive car whilst constantly lowering running costs, which is why no fewer than seven technical upgrades will be introduced at the start of next year.
- In 2021, the C3 R5 is set to evolve and become the C3 Rally2, in line with the new official names used in rallying. This change in name also provides an opportunity to introduce a new visual identity specific to the C3 Rally2. Following on from the previous design, the new monochrome livery features white on red – the iconic colours of Citroën’s Red Army, where the figure 2 becomes a series of corners, bends and accelerations – underlining that it is a works car designed for customer racing, with all the expertise of a Citroën team.
- This expertise is also reflected in the never-ending development work done on the car. After 2019 was devoted to the homologation of a new rear subframe to improve stability and feeling under braking and a rear suspension arm redesigned to further increase reliability, as well as to work on the gravel dampers to fine-tune the balance of the car, the 2020 season saw Citroën Racing’s technical team pay very special attention to the tarmac dampers. Further improvements were made in order to provide better feedback in low grip conditions.
- 2021 is set to see just as much development on C3 Rally2, with no fewer than seven technical upgrades planned in the first quarter. On the back of some 15,000 kilometres of testing completed since its commercial launch, as well as a wealth of customer feedback, the car is set to be improved in three areas: performance, running costs and driveability.
- Focusing on performance first and foremost, early January will see the homologation of new engine software, aimed at honing further the engine operating strategies related to the start and lift phases. Further upgrades are due to be introduced later in the first quarter: a new front apron with revised aerodynamics, a new front differential rail providing a wider range of settings and an adjustable brake distribution pedal offering drivers greater comfort, as well as new engine brackets, rear toe brackets and exhaust manifolds, in order increase their service life.
- All of these new upgrades will be fitted free of charge to all C3 Rally2 models ordered since December 1.
WHAT THEY SAID…
Jean-François Grandclaudon, Technical Director, C3 Rally2 project
“Since its introduction in 2017, we have worked constantly and racked up a lot of miles on the road, enabling us to offer our customers an increasingly fast car, suited to all types of driver and with controlled running costs. This season, even more work was done with our two development drivers, Mads Østberg on gravel and Yoann Bonato on tarmac. Over the last two years, the car has changed a lot, especially with a number of components that have not needed homologation and our efforts have now paid off with national and world titles claimed this year in major championships. There is no need for a revolution on the C3 Rally2 in 2021. We are going to build on the excellent foundation we have, which is both robust and quick, to try and improve it where we can. Although development is a never-ending process, we are excited at the prospect of seeing the performances of our customers in the car with these upgrades.”
Mayeul Tyl, Peugeot Citroën Racing Shop Manager
“This year, the C3 R5 has clearly established itself as one of the market leaders and that was our aim. Despite the health situation, our customers have continued to place their faith in us and we have managed to appeal to new customers too, which is just reward for all the hard work put in by all of the customer racing teams. Our aim on a project like this is to ensure all our customers can enjoy the same upgrades at the same time, regardless of how the car is being used. With the development phase, we have begun the procurement process in order to be ready for the start of the new season. Work is underway, we are waiting on final homologation of the new components so we can offer them and start the process with our customers.”
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