1968 Citroen Ds20 on 2040-cars

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Citro"en and Sebastian Loeb to enter World Touring Car Championship in 2014

You didn't think that Sébastien Loeb was just going to completely give up racing altogether, did you? Sure, the dynamic French driver may have decided to call it quits in the World Rally Championship with nothing left to prove (he did, after all, thoroughly dominated the sport from 2003 through 2012 and won the Driver's Championship each of those nine years), but the draw of competition is apparently too great to ignore.
Citroën - the automaker Loeb won each of his nine WRC championships with - has officially announced that it is entering the World Touring Car Championship with their favorite driver in 2014. Citroën CEO Frédéric Banzet cites "extensive media coverage, regulations that keep costs down and a genuinely global race calendar" that will "help [Citroën] to develop the brand in promising growth markets such as China, Russia and South America" as reasons for entering. The team will be sponsored by the automaker's longtime partner, Total.
There's not much more to the press release below, but it's there if you're interested in taking a look.

Citroen Ami flips at Grand Hotel Hairpin corner in Monaco

Monaco is known for a few things: casinos, rich people, yachts. But it's known among car people for its famed Formula 1 street circuit. If you visit, you can retrace that circuit, right down to its astoundingly tight Grand Hotel Hairpin. But think twice, or thrice, about what car you take on your tribute "lap," or you may end up like the overambitious driver of this Citroen Ami. Multiple people were recording when this Citroen Ami was ripping around the Grand Hotel corner, and a couple of those angles were shared on Twitter by user World Bollard Association. When the driver decided to come down the hill to the corner at what was likely the top speed or more of the tiny Citroen, it winds up on its side, sailing into one of the bollards on the sidewalk, preventing pedestrians from becoming bowling pins. pic.twitter.com/3IkvJidSsh — World Bollard Association™ (@WorldBollard) March 12, 2023 There are a number of factors that came together for this dramatic wreck. One of the foremost is the fact that the Ami was being pushed well beyond its limits. The electric car tops out at 28 mph from the factory, as it's meant to be a low-speed city car. It actually has a special classification in France that allows people to drive it without a license, making it more like a golf cart or scooter. It's designed around that idea of a slow commuter for tight city streets, too, being extremely narrow, but still fairly tall. It's not exactly meant to be taking corners quickly. As some have pointed out, British automotive TV show Fifth Gear demonstrated the car's lack of cornering stability, nearly rolling the car on a level turn. Then there's the corner itself. The Ami was being driven in the same direction as the Formula 1 race, which heads downhill into the hairpin. It's quite possible it was at or even beyond that 28-mph speed limit thanks to gravity. This also means that as the tipsy little car started turning in, it was already going to be leaning even a little further over than in most city corners. So with extra speed and an off-camber turn, the results were practically inevitable. If you find yourself looking to cruise around Monaco, remember that a glorified golf cart can't perform like a proper car. Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly named the corner where the Citroen rolled. The name has been corrected to Grand Hotel Hairpin. Related video: Green Motorsports Weird Car News Citroen

Citro"en to launch value-oriented C-line as part of brand reorganization

A report in Autocar says that PSA Peugeot-Citroën is realigning its brands. Peugeot will take the top slot to fight in the "premium mainstream" segment; in other words, Volkswagen. Citroën is said to be pointing its spear at a space that has Ford above and Dacia below, while its "DS arm" is classified as "near premium," but it isn't clear how high its aspirations climb. The entry-level point will be occupied by a C-line to be introduced by Citroën that would be "a balance between cost and functionality" and will take cues from the Lacoste concept shown at the 2010 Paris Motor Show (seen above).
The company has split its design studio into halves, one side for DS, the other for the C-line. The C-line's philosophy will be "bold" styling outside with "ease of use and simplicity" everywhere else. Build options will be kept low in order to maintain profits and low prices, but the options sheet won't be bare. The first offering in the line could be shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show, and will preview the replacement for the C3.