Citroën at Le Mans : Between dream and reality
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Citroën at Le Mans : Between dream and reality

 

Photo : - Polyphony Digital

 

With the return of Sébastien Loeb to endurance racing (article here), the marque he represents in rally has occasionally appeared at Le Mans.

Unlike cousins ​​Peugeot, Citroen have never been successful in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, their only two attempts failed prematurely: that of 1932 ended with engine failure after three laps, and in 1972 An SM sport #55 with a 3 litre engine prepared by Ligier participated in Le Mans testing, but did not participate in the race

That it is not to say that the Citroën has not built a tradition in endurance races, Le Mans included. On 12 June 2009, the Citroen GT caused a sensation in the drivers' parade held in the streets of the city. Developed in collaboration with Polyphony Digital, the car looked like the ideal weapon to tackle the 13.6 km of the "Circuit de la Sarthe" in 'Gran Turismo 5' on Playstation ... And for good reason: powered by a hydrogen fuel cell powering four electric motors of about 200 hp each *, the car can reach 330 km / h on the Mulsanne Straight!

In 2010, Citroën had reappeared, this time with the Survolt  During 'Le Mans Classic' (link), where Vanina Ickx drove the 100% electric sportscar, candidate for the 56th pit of 24 Hours of Le Mans (reserved for new technologies).

* The concept car is powered by a 640hp Ford  V8.

Julien Hergault

Illustrations : Players of Gran Turismo 5, can see Citroën race the 24 Heures du Mans. 

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