Citroen unlikely to homologate DS3 model as a Super 2000 car

Citroen Racing boss Olivier Quesnel has stated to wrc.com that the French manufacturer will probably not be homologating the DS3 model as a Super 2000 car.

Quesnel stated that development on the car had been halted until the FIA make their decision, at the WMSC on September 9th, about what engines WRC cars will use from 2011.

Quesnel said he was not expecting to homologate the DS3 as a two litre car to rival offerings from Ford and Abarth because in the Peugeot 207 the PSA group already had a model available for customers. "We still have 30 [Peugeot] cars to sell, so I don't see who would be in the market for a Super 2000 DS3," he said.

"The way forward for Citroen is the WRC so I prefer to make only a 1.6 litre car and work well on it. Now we wait for the meeting on the 9 September. We are quite sure it will be a 1.6 engine, either a production engine or the FIA 'global' engine.

"The development of the car is about 90 per cent complete. We have chosen the DS3 for marketing reasons because it will be the premium car for Citroen in this sector, but we are quite pleased to get it. It’s a nice car, and underneath the body it has the same floorpan as a C3, so everything is the same," he added.

Quesnel said that most of the DS3 sub assemblies, including the suspension and gearbox, were complete, and some could be used as upgrade parts for the similar Peugeot 207. "What we have done so far with the S2000 [DS3] will be okay for the 1.6 version so nothing is lost and it will also assist the development of the Peugeot," he said.