Unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show last March, the Citroën DS3 Racing was an unexpected announcement from the French firm who seemed to have abandoned the hot hatch market.
Citroen DS3 Racing
Now they’ve officially revealed the price and specification of the DS3 Racing. Limited to just 1,000 units with only 200 right-hand drive examples coming to the UK, the DS3 Racing will cost £23,100. That’s big money for a small hatchback, even if you consider that the price includes VAT at the higher rate of 20%.
| DS3 RACING SPECIFICATION | |
|---|---|
| Engine | 1.6 Turbo |
| Power | 207 bhp |
| Torque | 203 lb/ft |
| 0-62mph | 6.5 secs |
| Max Speed | 146 mph |
Chassis tweaks include new dampers and modified suspension settings, while the ride height is 15mm lower and the track is widened by 30mm front and rear. Brakes are upgraded to 4-piston callipers with bigger discs, and a set of wider 18-inch alloys help to improve grip.
As far as looks are concerned the DS3 Racing remains similar to the orange and black concept car. The graphics are gone but the Sport Orange roof remains to contrast with the Obsidian Black pearlescent paint. If you’re not keen on that combination there is one other choice – Polar White with a Carbon Black roof. For both paint schemes the roof colour is carried through to the alloy wheels, door mirrors, front grille, rear spoiler and the dashboard trim.
I’m sure the Citroën DS3 Racing is going to be a great hot hatch and second-hand values will remain reasonable strong thanks to the exclusivity, but is it really worth £7k more than a Renaultsport Clio 200 Cup?
I hope this is a resurgence of Citroen’s hot hatches. They have totally wasted the marketing potential of the WRC team, they could have sold some amazing cars on the back of Loeb’s success. And you’re right Daran, £23k is way too much to ask for such a car, exclusive or not. Perhaps this is some sort of French joke aimed at us Brits.
Of all the French car co’s I feel most inclined to buy a Citroen (all though I never would…). Their quirky styling has always set them apart from the blandness of Peugeot and Renault IMO (the latter’s designs not so much quirly as just plain ugly – fancy last gen Megane’s rear-end anyone – no? Me neither no matter how good R26R was.). It’s nice to see them making good fast cars again, after not making the most of the awesome Citroen rally team’s success and the legend that is Mr Loeb by doing a true ‘hot’ version of the Xsara which was a very big lost opportunity.
But no matter how good the DS3 is who with a sane mind would pay £23k for a French so-so hot-hatch! That would be madness when you think what else you could buy with that sort of money.
The DS3 may be a quirky little car (albeit with a hideous interior colour scheme), but the asking price is a true piece of French madness!