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GREAT PRETENDER: The Citroen C4 WRC Replica

MOTOR - SPORT enthusiasts attending this year's Rallye Sunseeker in Bournemouth may have got excited to see what appeared to be world champion Sebastien Loeb's rally car taking part in the opening round of the national championship.

First spied on Friday night at the opening stage in the town centre and then on Saturday at Somerley Park, the fully liveried red and white C4 WRC caught many people by surprise - however, this may not have lasted very long as keen rally followers will have soon realised it was an impostor.

The instant give-aways were the seats in the back, the lack of a roll cage and a steering wheel on the right-hand side of the car.

Actually it was yours truly at the wheel and enjoying every exhaust-thumping minute of it.

The Loeb look-alike is a so far "one-off" created by Citroen UK and Nottingham performance tuning company Cituning to both promote the French marque's success in the sport and to push the customising possibilities of the C4 to its limits.

And it certainly works as my two days with the C4 WRC Replica seemed to be causing a few neck injuries as other road users tried to work out if it was or wasn't the real thing.

Starting block for the realistic replica is the sporty three-door C4 VTS by Loeb, a special edition itself named after the rally champion which Citroen launched last year in sport red or black priced at £14,995.

It featured flared wheel arches, a small rear spoiler and 17in alloy wheels, but all these are superseded in this case by a Cituning WRC replica body conversion where the wheel arches stand even prouder, the deep front air dam (minus fog lamps) almost reaches the floor and carries the stick-on number plate and side sills expand the girth and a rounded rump sweeps into the arches.

To this is added an alloy race filler cap, a roof air vent (there for decorative purposes only), 18in white Team Dynamics WRC alloy wheels (8in at the front and 9in at the rear), low profile BF Goodrich tyres and a stainless steel exhaust system which gives it a wonderful deep growl every time the throttle pedal is applied without the fire-spitting turbo lag wallop of the genuine article.

Finally, this is topped off by an actual Citroen WRC carbon fibre two-deck rear spoiler (I've seen smaller dining tables) which is about the only thing ordinary drivers can't get their hands on (Cituning will do you something similar).

Inside there are fewer enhancements' which makes it 10 times more comfortable than a real rally car.

Primarily this is the Cobra Misano leather and Alcantara sculpted front seats with red stitching and carbon backs, which are a lot more comfortable than they look.

The only handicap is that the seat slide mechanism doesn't go very far and the hand-crank wind-down for the recline takes for ever so there's no quick exit for rear seat occupants.

A few extra touches of polished aluminium on the pedals, gear knob and gear gaiter surround add a touch of class.

Retained from the VTS is the 180bhp 2 litre 16-valve petrol unit as standard with an easy action five-speed manual transmission- so it's going to be just a tad slower than Mr Loeb's company car.

But it isn't entirely a case of all show and no go - the VTS will accelerate to 60mph in an encouraging eight seconds and top out at a highly illegal, double the speed limit, 140mph - quick but not blisteringly so.

Even though this is average hot hatch territory (a Subaru Impreza or Mitsubishi Evo will eat it alive), Citroen has decided to take no chances and fits a Tar-ox brake conversion using larger 360mm front discs and highlighted red 12-pot callipers (clearly seen through the alloys) and 330mm rear discs all operating on Aeroquip brake lines.

These complement the existing safety package, which includes ABS with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution and Emergency Braking Assistance, Electronic Stability Control and Traction Control.

To move along the sporting feel, the look-alike is also fitted with an Eibach adjustable suspension kit which nicely firms things up without getting harsh - my rear seat occupants had no complaints after a day on board.

And with a large 314 litre boot, automatic air conditioning, tinted windows, variable assisted steering, electric front windows and CD radio audio this WRC wannabe is actually a very usable everyday car - one that you certainly won't be able to lose in a supermarket car park.

Encouraged by the success of the WRC rally replica, Cituning has confirmed that it will be offering C4 enthusiasts the same make-over treatment... but it doesn't come cheap!

At £25,000 for the full Monte (on top of buying the C4 in the first place) that's £10,000 more than the price of the VTS, so budget for £40,000 if you want to look like Sebastien Loeb.

12:18pm Friday 25th April 2008

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