Earlier this summer, 185,000 visitors attended the Goodwood Festival of Speed – the annual celebration of all that’s fast and fun in the world of motoring.
Over the years since its 1993 founding the festival has expanded and diversified enormously, offering a broad range of attractions for the automotive enthusiast. But the focus of the event is always the Hillclimb course, offering the chance to see famous names driving landmark vehicles – at greatly varying levels of pace and noise.
Featuring among the loudest and quickest this year was our own current rally car, the mighty 300bhp DS3 WRC. It was hurled up the Goodwood hill by World Rally Car driver Thierry Neuville, who also threaded the car deftly through the tree-lined twists of the festival’s Forest Rally Stage.
Our Citroën Racing rally team has triumphed in an astonishing seven out of the past eight constructors’ world championships. Some of that unrivalled sporting pedigree has filtered directly into our DS4 Racing concept, which visited the festival after making its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
The concept’s 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine was developed by our rally engineers and produces a beefy 256bhp. That level of performance – 160bhp per litre of engine capacity – is a record for a production Citroën, yet it comes paired with a responsible 155g/km in CO2 emissions.
The rest of DS4 Racing concept has been suitably modified to complement the outstanding new engine. The suspension has been lowered, the track widened and the brakes upgraded. Carbon fibre has been used to fashion the rear diffuser and front splitter, and also forms the new arches that house 19-inch wheels and 235/40 tyres.
The concept is painted in a new texture-effect matt grey, providing a stylish and modern finish that draws attention to the athletic lines of the bodywork.
Of course this kind of sporting prowess is just one aspect of Citroën’s personality – we use the French words ‘Créative Technologie’ to sum up the combination of bold imagination and engineering excellence we channel into everything we do.
Visitors were able to sample another expression of our core values at the Moving Motor Show, a part of the festival where our luxurious new DS5 was not simply on display but also available for test drives.
A lucky few visitors were able to experience the thrill of driving an exceptional car that’s also perfect for everyday needs. DS5 is our first production car to feature a full hybrid diesel system– called Hybrid4 – that delivers CO2 emissions as low as 99g/km without compromise in terms of power or refinement.
The DS5’s sophisticated design and exceptional quality has helped it win a clutch of awards – it was voted Best Large Car in Diesel Car magazine’s 2012 awards, named Production Car of the Year by Car Design News, and awarded Family Car of the Year by Top Gear magazine.
We are already looking forward to the 2013 Festival of Speed, which will no doubt manage to top even this year’s outstanding event. We hope to bring along yet more examples of our unique ‘CréativeTechnologie’, for visitors to see, hear, and experience firsthand.
