Would anyone be tempted to buy a Xsara on the strength of their WRC performance? The target market will not have heard of the WRC, and the average rally enthusiast wouldn't touch a road going Xsara with a bargepole <thin flamesuit on>.

Is there to be a super special edition 300bhp Loeb Xsara? or what's the point? :confused:

Agreed, I think all manufacturers should have to produce a 4wd turbocharged road version, in the same config as the WRC car (ie transverse engine \ engine mounts etc).

Even if not silly power, just a "link" between the two, should help the "halo effect" on the rest of the range.

(same goes for peugeot, hyundai, ford)

Ian

Yeah, I agree, the Impreza became popular because of rallying as well as the the evos. Also the Octavia RS had a special rally edition with full works colours on it. These other manufactures are losing sales by not making road going versions of the rally cars, even if they are softened up a bit. Well thats my 2p's worth anyway.



Turkish1

At least some manufacturers make an effort and produce a car allied to its WRC stablemate - Impreza, Focus RS, Octavia RS etc but the top spec for the Xsara is probably at 1.8Td LX!!

Or could it be that Citroen want to boost sales of second hand saxos to the max pawer brigade??

Well, the octaviaRS is FWD, tho there is a 4x4turbo also.

There used to be a Xsara VTS, but think they stopped it for some reason, concentrating on the budget models!
Even so, it was NAspirated and FWD, so hardly a direct link.

xsara vts still available, still not really comparable to a turbo 4x4 rally model though. :( like the new colours on the wrc.

I suspect a lot of it is brand awareness rather than just trying to shift Xsaras. Having driven a hired 1.4 Xsara in Catalunya last year it was kinda difficult to relate it to the WRCs I was watching!

Citroen had a 'rally replica' road car at the Autosport Show.

On top of the basic price for the car, the bodykit would cost you an extra £6000 and add another £4000 to that if you wanted to 'tuning' mods, suspension etc too!!!

No, I don't think many people would go for that! :D


Teri

it's all about marketing an image. The WRC rules (end of GroupA) made it far easier for the manufacturers to enter and compete in the sport.

Having a road going derivative is irelivent to the image the manufacturers are trying to portray. Most of their road car buyers cant afford a GroupA style car, that doesnt mean they dont aspire to be a part of that brand image.

It's just the same reason why they use F1, you wont find a BMW Williams for sale on the highstreet or a McLaren Mercedes down the merc dealership, but owners of BMW and Mercedes get a boost out of those winning in F1. If they didnt the companies would not invest such huge sums of money.

Marketing is what pays for motorsport.

Agree with John - all about image. Even if you aren't successful, it can have an effect. Apparantly Jaguar sales have shot up since their involvement with F1.

Rallying, because it is closer in looks to the kind of cars you can actually buy has always had a good 'halo' effect over a manufacturer's range of cars. The most successful - Lancia, Audi, Subaru and Mitsubishi have all produced cars that are based around their rallying experince.

I've always found it strange that Peugeot hasn't done more and why it has taken Ford so long with the Focus RS.

One thing John - the new Mercedes will actually be built by Mclaren - so you will be able to buy a Mclaren Mercedes in your local dealership (for a price...) :)

Chris