Citroën’s C-Elysée WTCC, which is one victory away from FIA World Touring Car Championship race win number 50, has notched up yet another accolade.
The dominant French machine appears on Redbull.com’s list of best ever touring cars alongside the Audi A4 quattro, Ford Cologne Capri and Mercedes 190E.
Tom Chilton was one of four drivers quizzed for the article and the World Touring Car Championship race winner chose Citroën’s rapid racer.
When asked why, the Briton explained: “It doesn’t have the iconic status of a BMW ‘Batmobile’, but it’s everything a touring car should be, and I’m lucky to be able to race one in the World Touring Car Championship. It handles like a GT3 car around the bends and can almost keep up with one on most straights. Making a car stiff enough to corner quickly, yet be able to smash a huge kerb at 100mph and then turn in flat in top gear just after it lands takes something special.”
Chilton pointed to his capture of the TAG Heuer Best Lap Trophy in Germany earlier this season as a key moment. “I set the WTCC lap record around the Nordschleife with the car. When the current TC1 rules came into play, a new type of touring car was born and Citroën raised the bar by using their rally experience to create a machine that could handle the bumps and twists while remaining low to the ground. The fact that the car has won the WTCC title for the past three years shows what a special piece of kit it is.”