One of Citroen's big debuts at the Paris Motor Show was its HYmotion4 hybrid technology, which was fitted to the Citroën Hypnos and C4 WRC along with the Peugeot RC and Prologue. Unlike most hybrid systems, the French technology has no direct connection between the car's engine and battery, so the pack is recharged "through the road" when the car's regenerative braking is applied. There's a 125-kW electric motor attached to the rear axle that gets its power from 990 individual lithium ion cells wired up to produce 400-volts. The C4 WRC's driver can select from a number of modes to allow a specific amount of electric assistance, including running solely on the electric motor or using it as a short-term boost for added acceleration. This way, the car can be run in zero-emission mode or at full power, depending on the situation. Although no production machines have been announced with this new technology, the fact that the automaker has created four separate concepts with it shows that it is serious about its production possibilities.
Following all the plot twists in the ongoing saga of what's become of MG Rover in recent years is more difficult than unravelling the Harry Potter series in a half hour. Looking like something distinctly last century, the MG XPower SV started life as a derivate of the Qvale Mangusta. Ex-racer William Riley, a member of the famed English automotive clan, managed to wheel and deal for the rights to the MG X-Power name, as well as the flared and gilled V8-powered supercar intender. What better thing to do with a kevlar-bodied piece of automotive bombast but cut the top off? That's exactly the thinking that's led to the prototype MG X-Power SV-S WRC. WRC stands for William Riley Convertible, and the car sports a supercharged V8 and is claimed to be capable of hitting 62 mph in 3.8 seconds on its way to a top speed of 195 mph. It will cost Anglophiles £87,000 to support their local supercar bakery, though there will be lower achievers that cost less but still deliver the same jagged-glass eye pain. Still, considering that this mobile cheese grater is about half the cost when powered by a 3.5 liter Ford V6, it's a bargain for such an exclusive car.
Ever since 2006, when Peugeot, Skoda and Mitsubishi pulled their factory works teams out of the World Rally Championship, the WRC has been desperate to attract another major automaker back to reinvigorate the series. Emerging reports suggest that Volkswagen has been inquiring about joining the championship after the company's motorsport chief Kris Nissen visited the Finnish rally to meet with series officials and team leaders.
Despite being one of the largest automakers in the world, the Volkswagen Group's racing division is proportionately very small. Audi's programs in Le Mans-class prototype racing and German touring cars (DTM) stand out as the biggest exceptions, while SEAT campaigns Leons in both the British and World Touring Car Championships and Skoda in the production-car-based Intercontinental Rally Challenge. Nothing in Formula One, NASCAR or the WRC. The Volkswagen division itself only dabbles in racing periodically, with the Touareg in Dakar and the Scirocco at the Nurburgring 24-hour enduro, in addition to its low-level Formula 3 program. However, the top-tier World Rally Championship would give Volkswagen a chance to claim honors against Ford, Subaru, Citroen and newcomers Suzuki, as well as the privateer teams. Fiat and Renault have also been touted as potential additions to the WRC roster. However, only time will tell which automakers will take the big step up.
While we haven't driven the boosted Suzuki SX4t, we hear it's a scream. So when we caught wind of a special edition SX4 inspired by the automaker's participation in the World Rally Championship, our happy balloon was on its way to reaching capacity. It deflated quickly. No, the SX4 WRC isn't turbocharged, doesn't have any trick all-wheel-drive programming and is little more than a wannabe racer of the lamest variety. Think the OZ-edition Mitsubishi Lancer, but with half the cred and none of the good stuff.
Instead, Suzuki Germany is attempting to cash in on the SX4's minimal rallying cred with the stock, 107-hp 1.6-liter four-pot, "rally design" 16-inch wheels wrapped in 205/60 R16 rubber, a body kit that includes a new front bumper and rear bumper and side skirts, and with a mesh grille and "carbon-look" detailing. Inside, Suzuki's German arm is all about budget bling with a leather shift knob, faux carbon fiber trim, navigation and privacy glass, plus keyless entry and starting. Thankfully, you won't be able to pick up the Suzuki SX4 WRC in the States, and for 19,500 euro, we somehow doubt the rally-ravens in Deutschland will be running to dealers with loans in tow.
Sebastian Loeb and Citroen had a comfortable win at the Acropolis Rally in Greece this past weekend, but much of the attention was paid to the race debut of the Subaru WRC2008. With Petter Solberg behind the wheel, the new Subie took ten top-five stage times the first two days and captured second place overall. The result was Solberg's first points since February and his first podium finish since last year's Acropolis Rally. The problem-free weekend and the fast pace were encouraging for the Subaru team, who see the new race car as a turning point. "This is it, we're coming back!" Solberg declared after the race. The next rally in Turkey will determine whether the initial success of the car was a fluke or for real. For now, check out the gallery below of the WRC2008 sliding its way to a second place finish.
WRC teams are gearing up in Greece ahead of this week's Acropolis rally, and just before its world racing debut, Subaru has released the details on its all-new Impreza rally car. You can pore over the specs after the jump, but the highlights of the Impreza WRC2008 include a 1994cc turbocharged flat four, running an IHI turbo equipped with the WRC-mandated 34mm restrictor plate and Subaru's own anti-lag system to produce 300 hp at 5,500 rpm and... wait for it... 479 lb.-ft. of torque at 3,000 rpm.
Power is sent to a six-speed electro-hydraulic transmission, through an electronically controlled center diff and down to the wheels through mechanical differentials, fore and aft. Bos shocks are being used in conjunction with the front and rear MacPherson setup, while AP Racing, 310mm discs are clamped by six-piston calipers both in front and in the rear. BBS wheels are fitted at all four corners, with 15-inchers used for gravel stages and 18-inch rollers for tarmac attacks. The rally racer's weight is set at the WRC minimum of 2,712 pounds. As always, you can follow the progress of the Impreza and the rest of the teams at the WRC website.
Next week's Acropolis Rally in Greece will be the first event in the 2008 WRC season to feature Subaru's new rally car. The Impreza Rally WRC2008 car was originally previewed at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, but Subaru has yet to announce the final specifications of its new rally rocket. Obviously, Prodrive has had its hand in developing the new racer, but a BOS sticker indicates that Subaru will be utilizing the French outfit's dampers. Petter Solberg and Chris Atkinson will pilot the new Impreza in Greece and Prodrive head David Richards is convinced that this is "the most radically different Subaru World Rally Car in 15 years." We're looking forward to seeing how it fares next week.
If your inner rally driver lusts for something different than the run of the mill Subaru or Mitsubishi, there's a tasty new Gallic morsel to spice things up. Citroen is taking their C2 to the FIA Junior World Rally Championship this year, and the C2-R2 Max Rally kit is their ticket to homologation. The kit keeps the price down, but doesn't skimp on serious pieces. The 1.6-liter engine belts out 190 horsepower, and there's larger brakes and a hydraulic steering rack to keep that power in check and make sure it's properly directed. There's also an adjustable rear suspension to help fend off competitors on the track. All of our puppy-dog enthusiasm is for naught; we can't get this un-subtle killer hatch in the United States. C'est la vie.
The name Skoda might not jump out on this side of the Atlantic, but on the opposing shore, the Czech automaker is known for a rich history in rally racing that stretches back over a hundred years to the roots of motorsports. Volkswagen's acquisition of the brand in 1991 meant that Skoda had more funding to properly compete in the World Rally Championship against well-funded works teams like Subaru and Mitsubishi, but Skoda ended up pulling out in 2005 in favor of the more budget-friendly production-car-based Super 2000 formula (Note: PDF link). The formula calls for a 2-liter, normally-aspired engine with no more than 280 horsepower driving all four wheels through a standardized six-speed sequential gearbox with no electronic gizmos.
With that kind of rally-driven focus, it's no wonder that Skoda showed a racing concept version of its new Fabia alongside the production model at last year's Geneva show. Now almost a year later, Skoda has come a long way in developing the new car. Far enough, anyway, to give us some mouth-watering new images of the car, which looks something like the lovechild of a JCW MINI and a Ferrari 575 GTC Evoluzione. Pretty badass, any way you cut it, but don't take our word for it... check out the images in the gallery below (and the press release after the jump) and judge for yourself.
Rally-racing superstar Sebastien Loeb drove into the history books this past Sunday in Monaco when he and co-driver Daniel Elena (a native of Monaco) took the checkered flag at the Monte Carlo Rally for a record fifth time. The Monaco stages kicked off the 2008 World Rally Championship, and Loeb is hoping that the victory at the season opener will be the first of many as he and Elena campaign for their fifth consecutive WRC title.
Although Dani Sordo, Loeb's team-mate at Citroen, put up an early fight, Sordo retired from second place with engine problems, leaving Loeb with an eventual two-and-a-half second lead over Ford driver Mikko Hirvonen. Acknowledging Loeb's repeated domination in Monte Carlo, Hirvonen was satisfied with his second-place finish.
This was the last time the Monte Carlo Rally counts towards the World Rally Championship, as next year the event joins the 2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge. The WRC picks up again in Sweden on February 8.
We've selected some of the finer action shots from the Monaco Rally and assembled them into a high-res gallery below.
