If the World Rally Championship of the early 2000s had seen a battle royal between Subaru and Peugeot, then the next decade was noticeably more one-sided, with Sébastien Loeb securing an unprecedented nine consecutive Drivers’ titles between 2004 and 2012. Furthermore, Citroën had secured eight Constructors’ crowns in 10 years. The first three of Loeb’s Championships came at the wheel of Citroën’s Xsara WRC, and a further four with its new-for-2007 replacement, the C4 WRC. However, the FIA’s adoption of the relatively low-tech Super 2000 regulations for 2011 prompted Citroën to develop their new DS3 WRC for the incoming ruleset.

Featuring a turbocharged, 1.6-litre, inline four engine, the DS3 was a masterpiece of packaging; its transverse power unit and compact Sadev six-speed sequential gearbox enabling dimensions to be kept to a minimum. Mandatory 33 mm air restrictors and a 2.5 bar boost limit restricted power to around 300 horsepower—a reduction of around 40 horsepower relative to the 2-litre C4—although this was partially offset by a modest reduction in the WRC’s minimum weight, from 1,230 to 1,200 kilograms.

Yet if rival teams had hoped that such regulatory upheaval would bring an end to the Citroën hegemony, they were to be disappointed. Loeb enjoyed a typically seamless transition to the new car, while arriving former Junior World Rally Champion Sébastien Ogier—newly promoted from the Citroën Junior Team to the marque’s principal squad—also proved immediately on the pace. Indeed, 2011 and 2012 would see Loeb secure record-extending eighth and ninth titles respectively. The DS3, incredibly, won 20 out of 26 WRC events during this time.

The car offered here, chassis 06, made its debut in the first round of the 2011 Championship, in Sweden. Crewed by Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia, the pair finished 4th, while in the Rally de Portugal in March they secured its first WRC win. A 4th-place finish in Sardinia was then followed by three further wins in Greece, Germany, and France. In spite of Loeb’s milestone, it was Ogier who was arguably the revelation of the season; his 3rd in the Drivers’ Championship including five WRC wins, of which four were attributable to chassis 06.

Ogier left Citroën for Škoda ahead of the 2012 season, with his place taken by former Ford driver Mikko Hirvonen. The latter subsequently drove chassis 06 to 4th in Monte Carlo, 2nd in Argentina and New Zealand, 5th on the Wales Rally GB, and an eventual 2nd place in the Championship behind his illustrious team leader. The car contested a further seven WRC events between 2015 and 2017; results of 10th in Germany in 2015 and 8th in Sweden in 2017, in the hands of Loeb’s protégé Stéphane Lefebvre, being the most noteworthy.

Following the conclusion of its Works career, chassis 06 was entrusted to long-time Citroën partner PH Sport for a comprehensive overhaul, which included rebuilding the engine, turbo and gearbox, and the fitment of new driveshafts. This was performed in late 2019; the engine and turbo having covered just 2,500 kilometres–and the gearbox and driveshafts just 622 kilometres–since. The car subsequently contested the 2020 editions of the Rally du Touquet and Rally du Mont Blanc in the hands of new owners JDV Sports, prior to its acquisition by the present custodians over the winter of 2021. Immaculately presented in its 2011 Rally de France-Alsace-winning livery, the car has also notably received a new chin spoiler since the catalogue photoshoot was performed, and represents a fascinating and historic insight into both the Super 2000 WRC era and the breakout season of Sébastien Ogier; himself a subsequent eight-time WRC winner and rallying all-time great.