At the Geneva show, Citroen Racing (Citroen’s STi/Allianora) paraded the DS3 Racing that’s set to go on sale in the second half of 2010. Limited to 1,000 units, the DS3R comes with plenty of carbon trim – on the front bumper, lower body trim, wing extensions, door side moldings and spoiler, to be exact. The Grey show car was nicely contrasted with orange on the roof, wing mirrors, grille and rims (18-inch, looks really wicked) and wore some funky decals. Orange and carbon are also repeated in the cabin, which has a high-quality feel to it.
The first ad I noticed once touching down at the Geneva airport was one for the Citroen DS3, which had the headline “anti-retro”. We all know that the DS3 is pitched as a rival to BMW’s Mini, and the ad is clearly a jibe in the direction of the bug-eyed car. I understand the DS3’s appeal for those who either don’t “get” the Mini’s retro looks or simply look at it as a fashion fad. With creative design typical of Citroen and a modern, classy cabin, we reckon that it will do very well in Europe. Citroen took the 1.6 THO engine (as found in our Peugeot 308 Turbo) and boosted output to 200 b hp, while torque is up from 240 NM to 275 NM.The gains were achieved by “optimizing power train components”, modifying the turbo, remapping the ECU and adding a sports exhaust system. With these figures, the DS3R will outpace a Mini Cooper S.
