D R I V E N

Napoleon Bonaparte is considered as one of the greatest conquerors of all time.  During his short reign, he managed to put most of Europe on its knees.  Oh, how things don’t change.  It’s 2003, and once again, it’s the French in command, dominating the rest of Europe in albeit a different way: the World Rally Championship.

Though not as widely promoted as Formula One, the WRC dishes up some great seat-of-your pants entertainment with breath taking power slides and time-stopping jumps—neither of which are seen in a Ferrari or a McLaren.  In the midst of Sega Rally favorites Peugeot 206, Subaru Impreza, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and the Ford Focus, one constructor has come out ahead of the heap.  And believe it or not, it comes from the land that gave us Dijon Mustard and the Eiffel Tower: France.

Citroen was a name never associated with the WRC.  The company, which is part of the PSA conglomerate—the same group that owns Peugeot, had success in cross-country rally cross races such as the Paris-Dakar Rally.  Seeing that participation in WRC will help raise brand kudos, Citroen entered the fray in the late 1990’s.

The company’s first rally cars were in all purposes a front-driver kit-car, designed to compete in the lower classes of the WRC.  However, in 1999, the Xsara T4, a full-blown Group A racer debuted.  The launch the Xsara T4 created quite a stir since it took the debate of pitting two brands of the same group (Peugeot and Citroen) against each other publicly. 

That said, the Xsara T4 shared very little parts with either the Peugeot 206 WRC or the Xsara kit-car that it replaced.  Citroen’s team manager, Guy Frequelin, was determined to design and build a unique car rather that relying on technology developed by the already established Peugeot WRC program.  Frequelin even persuaded the French national governing body for motorsports to create a whole new domestic formula that would allow the Xsara T4 to gain vital practice mileage in 2000.

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