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| Category | World Rally Car | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Citroën Racing | ||||
| Predecessor | Citroën Xsara WRC | ||||
| Successor | Citroën DS3 WRC | ||||
| Technical specifications[1] | |||||
| Length | 4,274 mm (168.3 in) | ||||
| Width | 1,800 mm (70.9 in) | ||||
| Axle track | 1,598 mm (62.9 in) | ||||
| Wheelbase | 2,608 mm (102.7 in) | ||||
| Engine | 1,998 cc (121.9 cu in)I4turbocharged | ||||
| Power | 315 brake horsepower (235 kW) @ 5,500 rpm 430 pound force-feet (580 N⋅m) @ 2,750 rpm | ||||
| Weight | 1,230 kg (2,711.7 lb) | ||||
| Competition history (WRC) | |||||
| Notable drivers |  Sébastien LoebSébastien Ogier Kimi Räikkönen Petter Solberg Daniel Sordo | ||||
| Debut |  2007 Monte Carlo Rally | ||||
| First win | 2007 Monte Carlo Rally | ||||
| Last win |  2010 Wales Rally GB | ||||
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| Constructors' Championships | 3 (2008, 2009, 2010) | ||||
| Drivers' Championships | 4 (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) | ||||
TheCitroën C4 WRC is aWorld Rally Car built for theCitroën World Rally Team byCitroën Racing to compete in theWorld Rally Championship. It is based upon theCitroën C4 road car and replaced theCitroën Xsara WRC. The car was introduced for the2007 World Rally Championship season and took the drivers' title in all four seasons it participated in at the hands ofSébastien Loeb between 2007 and 2010, as well as the manufacturers' title in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
The C4 WRC and Loeb maintained a 100% record on asphalt events during its WRC career, winning all 13 pure asphalt rounds of the World Rally Championship.[2]
The car made its debut at the2007 Monte Carlo Rally in the hands ofCitroën World Rally Team driversSébastien Loeb andDaniel Sordo. Loeb won the rally after leading throughout, with Sordo finishing as runner-up, with the pair winning the first nine of 15 stages. Loeb went on to win seven of the remaining 15 rallies that season to beat Ford'sMarcus Grönholm to the title by nine points. Sordo finished fourth in the standings.
Citroën retained Loeb and Sordo in their team for 2008, with Loeb winning 11 out of 15 rallies to take the title, while Sordo finished third in the standings. This was enough for Citroën to regain the manufacturers' crown.
C4 WRCs were also run by privateer squadPH-Sport forConrad Rautenbach andUrmo Aava during the season, as well as forJunior World Rally Championship winnerSébastien Ogier at the final event of the season,Rally GB. Ogier lead the event early on despite it being his first in a WRC car.
In 2009, Loeb and Sordo once again drove for the factory squad, with Loeb winning the first five events of the year and then winning the final two to beat Ford driverMikko Hirvonen to the title by just one point. Sordo finished a solid third as Citroën retained the manufacturers' title.
PH-Sport ran a second team of C4 WRCs under theCitroën Junior Team banner for Rautenbach and Ogier, withEvgeny Novikov,Chris Atkinson andAaron Burkart also appearing under the banner during the year.Petter Solberg ran an old Xsara WRC for his own team for most of the season, before switching to a C4 WRC for the penultimate round, and was then entered under the Junior Team banner for the final round of the season.
Loeb and Sordo continued with the factory team into 2010, while the Junior Team ran Ogier andKimi Räikkönen. Ogier, though, had a strong start to the season (including a win inPortugal) and so was swapped with Sordo for gravel rounds in the second half of the season. Ogier then won the2010 Rally Japan as a factory driver. Räikkönen achieved his first career stage win with the C4 at the2010 Rallye Deutschland.
Petter Solberg drove a C4 WRC for his own team and picked up eight podiums over the season, finishing third in the final standings, ahead of works drivers Ogier and Sordo, and behind eventual world champion Loeb.
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| Preceded by | Autosport Awards Rally Car of the Year 2008–2010 | Succeeded by |
A marque ofStellantis | ||||||||
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