Citroën Xsara Kit Car

Citroën Sport
Industry	Motorsport, Automotive
Founded	March 1997; 29 years ago
Headquarters	Paris, France
Products	Rally cars, including Citroën Xsara Kit Car, Citroën Xsara WRC

Citroën Xsara Kit Car is a rally vehicle derived from the Citroën Xsara production model. Constructed by Citroën Sport in accordance with FIA Kit car F2 regulations, this front-wheel-drive, naturally aspirated machine participated in the French Rally Championship between 1998 and 2001. It achieved two victories in the World Rally Championship during 1999, which led to regulatory adjustments that diminished its competitiveness against World Rally Car competitors. The model was ultimately succeeded by the Citroën Xsara WRC in 2002.

Background

The project commenced with engine development in March 1997, followed by the chassis design in April. The initial prototype was completed and delivered on July 12, 1997, for refinement purposes. The finalized version made its competitive debut at the Lyon-Charbonnieres Rally in March 1998.

French and Spanish Championships

At its inaugural event in Lyon-Charbonnieres, French driver Philippe Bugalski secured an overall victory. Throughout the 1998 season, Bugalski triumphed in six out of ten French championship rallies, earning the title. He further improved his performance in 1999 by winning nine of ten events, successfully defending his championship.

In Spain, Jesús Puras dominated the national championship by winning three consecutive titles from 1998 through 2000 behind the wheel of the Xsara Kit Car. The car maintained its winning form in France during 2001 when Sébastien Loeb claimed the championship after achieving six wins across ten rallies.

European Championship

The Xsara Kit Car recorded its first European Championship success with Philippe Bugalski’s victory at the 1998 Rally d'Antibes, followed by another win at the season finale Rallye du Var, culminating in a third-place overall finish that year.

In early 1999, Jesús Puras secured a win at the Rally El Corte Inglés driving an Xsara. That same year, Bugalski repeated his triumphs at both d'Antibes and du Var rallies.

Belgian driver Bruno Thiry spearheaded the Xsara Kit Car’s European campaign in 2000, capturing victories at the El Corte Inglés Rally—where Citroën achieved first and second places—and at Albena Rally. Multiple podium finishes helped him earn runner-up status in the championship. Sébastien Loeb also contributed with a victory at Rally du Var in 2000 and another win at Rally d'Antibes in 2001.

World Cup

Due to its front-wheel-drive configuration, the Xsara Kit Car competed exclusively on asphalt surfaces within the World Rally Championship, where it remained competitive against four-wheel-drive WRC vehicles.

Making its WRC debut at the 1998 Rally Catalunya, Bugalski finished fifth despite Jesús Puras retiring because of engine issues. The remainder of the 1998 season saw limited results for the car.

The 1999 season marked the apex of the Kit Car’s performance: Bugalski won Rally Catalunya, outperforming notable drivers such as Richard Burns (Subaru Impreza WRC) and Tommi Mäkinen (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI). The pinnacle was a one-two finish at Tour de Corse with Bugalski leading and Puras following closely behind, ahead of prominent WRC competitors Carlos Sainz and Colin McRae.

Nevertheless, rule changes introduced in 2000 raised minimum weight requirements for F2 category cars like the Xsara, diminishing its weight advantage and overall competitiveness against World Rally Cars. Consequently, Citroën replaced it with the Citroën Xsara WRC in 2002.

WRC victories

#	Event	Season	Driver	Co-driver
1	Template:Country data ESP Template:Namespace detect showall 1999 Rally Catalunya	Template:WRC	Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Philippe Bugalski	Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Jean-Paul Chiaroni
2	Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall 1999 Tour de Corse	Template:WRC	Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Philippe Bugalski	Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Jean-Paul Chiaroni

WRC results

Year	Driver	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	WMC	Points
Template:WRC		MON	SWE	KEN	POR	ESP	FRA	ARG	GRE	NZL	FIN	ITA	AUS	GBR	–	–
	Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Philippe Bugalski					5th	Retired					Retired
	Template:Country data ESP Template:Namespace detect showall Jesús Puras					Retired						Retired
	Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Patrick Magaud						10th					11th
	Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Fabien Doenlen						7th

Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Philippe Bugalski					1st	1st						Retired
Template:Country data ESP Template:Namespace detect showall Jesús Puras	Retired				Retired	2nd

External links