World Rally Championship (WRC), the first race held by 1973, was organized by FIA, and the rules of the race were very detailed. For example, the participating vehicles must be prototypes with an annual output of more than 2,500 vehicles by major automobile manufacturers, and there are strict requirements on the scale, weight, displacement and power of modified vehicles. Therefore, thanks to WRC, many fans can buy the commercial version of the racing car, which was originally addicted to it. In the history of WRC for nearly ten years, you must have heard the name of a car god, and he is Sébastien Loeb.
Loeb officially became the driver of the Citroen factory team in 2002, won two sub-station championships in 2003, and won the runner-up of the year. In the same year, Citroen won the championship.
However, Peugeot and Citroen, which participated in the world cross-country rally, announced that PSA Group would withdraw from the world cross-country rally after the end of the 2005 season. At that time, PSA Group claimed that this was because the operation of the global new car market became more and more difficult. But with the continuous research and development of each team, the cost of racing cars is also increasing. Under the assessment that participating in WRC competition can not bring actual positive benefits, it is naturally a correct and rational choice to withdraw from the competition.
PSA Group believes that Peugeot and Citroen have won five WRC automobile factory championships and three drivers' championships in the past five years. This result fully shows that the two brands participating in the competition have strong strength that cannot be ignored, but it also points out that these brilliant achievements are really difficult to continue without stable and sufficient budget assistance.
Due to the increasingly difficult operation of the new car market, PSA Group will reconsider the new direction of racing operation in 2005, and at the same time, it is determined that the Group will significantly cut the budget of the racing department. Although Peugeot and Citroen will still compete in WRC every other year, they will strive for the best results. However, PSA has decided that the factory logos of Peugeot and Citroen will disappear from WRC track from 2006.
Soon, after Sébastien Loeb, who played for kronos in 2006, won the WRC Japanese sub-station championship with Xsara, the good news of his return in the name of the factory team came out. Unlike Peugeot, which belongs to PSA Group, which bid farewell to WRC and went to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Citroen has started testing C4·WRC, which returned to the track in 2007, and Sébastien Loeb also participated in the test drive, and was very excited about the excellent performance of the new car.
That year, C4·WRC participated in the competition for the first time. Although a lot of tests have been done before playing, the actual situation still needs to be understood on the court. So on the first day of the first game, all the staff were particularly nervous and always prepared for any possible problems. However, Loeb successfully completed the first day of the race at an amazing speed, and won two time championships in SS section, which greatly boosted the morale of Citroen team.
Time came to 2007. In the first race of the WRC World Cross-country Championship held in Monte Carlo, Citroen, a French car factory that just sent a new car, led by Sébastien Loeb, who had won three world championships at that time, and teammate Dani Sordo, drove a brand-new car and successfully won the first and second place in the first race. It has laid a strong start for the team championship in 2007.
It was not until 20 1 1 that the combination of C4 WRC and Loeb became the trend of killing gods and ghosts. In four years, Citroen won four annual championships, which made Sébastien Loeb's reputation in the field of racing reach its peak. Today, it still holds the title of the car god, which is inseparable from Schumacher of F 1.
Look at the secret of racing. In 2008, hybrid technology of oil and electricity began!
Citroen introduced the concept car C4 WRC HYmotion4 at the Paris Motor Show in 2008, which became the first hybrid battle colt in WRC history, showing the dual performance of performance and efficiency.
In terms of painting, C4 WRC HYmotion4 shows its uniqueness: the exaggerated aerodynamic kit will not be repeated, and the C4 WRC HYmotion4 concept car is on the left side of the car body, adopting the red and blue double-color style used by WRC Citroen; After passing through the center line of the car body, the right side part is painted with a white background with an environmental image, and it is matched with green words, which highlights the characteristics of C4 WRC HYmotion4 in environmental protection efficiency.
As the first hybrid electric racing car of WRC, Citroen has added many environmental protection tools to C4 WRC HYmotion4: firstly, a 125kW power motor was installed in the rear differential; On the upper edge of the fuel tank, a 400 volt lithium battery module is installed; At the same time, it also includes the electronic control system of the hybrid power module. In addition, the hybrid power system needs two additional cooling systems, which also ensures that the motor and battery module can operate safely in the fierce competition.
Brake operation has also become one of the ways to improve efficiency in the fierce competition of WRC. C4 WRC HYmotion4 is equipped with a braking kinetic energy recovery system, which can convert kinetic energy during braking into electric energy and store it in the battery module. The electric power converted from the braking system can be reused as the power source of the vehicle in the motor. The original factory said that in the all-electric mode, the C4 WRC HYmotion4 will add an additional 40 kilometers of cruising range; The fuel consumption of asphalt sections can also be reduced by up to 30%.
In addition, C4 WRC HYmotion4 also provides drivers with four different driving modes to adapt to different road sections. The internal combustion engine mode only uses the traditional gasoline engine as power, and is most commonly used in off-road sections and a few asphalt sections. The internal combustion engine with energy recovery mode can be used on off-road roads, which can not only charge the battery module, but also reduce the problem of braking performance degradation.
Motors with braking kinetic energy recovery mode can be used in asphalt sections, speed limit sections or maintenance areas. Simply using electric drive can reduce fuel consumption, extend driving distance and reduce vehicle noise. Boost mode combines internal combustion engine and motor to provide 300N.m extra torque in a short time, so as to strive for success.
Lebouteux version? Why not!
C4 WRC, which helped Loeb win four WRC titles for Citroen, actually introduced the production version of Dongfeng Citroen in 2008 and changed its name to Sega. In the compact category with the fiercest market competition, although it rarely relies on the brilliant record of WRC, it has also achieved stable sales results all the year round. At present, in addition to the front face design, the models on sale have been refined according to the tastes of Chinese people, and were renamed as "Classic Sega" in February 20 15. Besides targeting young people, these products are also expected to improve the performance of Dongfeng Citroen in C4L and the new Elysee market segments.
But perhaps the author's worship of Loeb is too toxic. In fact, I hope C4 may launch a car named after Loeb, which may be more in line with the needs and topicality of young people. Don't say it's not feasible. In fact, the French Citroen has been launched as early as 2009, so that fans who love WRC events can collect such a meaningful car. Perhaps Dongfeng Citroen can learn from it.
In order to show the sports style of the product, C4 by Loeb will only provide red and black car colors, and according to the different car colors, it will also match different tails with 17 inch aluminum rings; In addition, Sébastien Loeb's signature on the door, and the "by Loeb" logo on the tailgate and side rearview mirror all highlight the unique identity of the limited edition model in time.
In the cockpit with red and black as the main tone, C4 by Loeb not only echoes the strong sports atmosphere through the pedals and gear head made of aluminum alloy, but the most striking thing is the "by Loeb" emblem in front of the gear seat, on which the exclusive limited number is written, making C4 by Loeb more precious and unique. The original factory also provides induction wipers, headlights, and audio supporting MP3 format to meet the comfort of consumers.
At that time, the original factory provided C4 with Loeb's 1.6 HDi, 1.6 Vti, 1.6 THP, and the prices ranged from14,395.00 to15,895, which may be far from the strength of the factory car.
20 16, moved to Dakar rally.
Loeb, who officially retired from WRC on 20 13, is still alive and well in other fields. After helping Citroen win the WTCC annual manufacturer's championship ahead of schedule this year, the god-like figure of the WRC nine-time champion also announced that he would join the Peugeot camp to participate in the Dakar Rally next year! You know, its teammates, including Carlo sainz, Stephane Peter hansel and Cyril Depres, won the Dakar championship of 17, and now the addition of Sébastien Loeb, the king of heaven, makes Peugeot's lineup more dreamy! It also makes us brain-dead car fans talk again.
(Netease blog? 20 16-0 1-28 10:06: 13)