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Citroën Visa Lotus Prototype 1981
Citroen Visa Lotus Prototype
In 1981, Citroen wanted to participate in the World Rally Championship, starting with their new model : the Visa. And so the ‘Genesis Project’ was started. Guy Verrier, responsable for Citroen’s motorsport division, launched the Visa Rally Trophy and wanted to create a car that could compete with the Renault 5 Turbo. Citroen wanted to revenge Renault by creating a car that could compete in Group B. Various constructors and companies were asked to create a study model. This resulted in the build of 8 prototypes with power ranging from 145 to 290 HP and displacements of 1219 to 1440 cc. In fact the prototype showed here is a Lotus Esprit Turbo where its body has been replaced by a Citroen Visa. Therefore the car has the same characteristics as the Lotus Esprit. It has a 4-cilinder engine with a displacement of 2174 cc, which generates 210 HP. The engine is mounted to a 5-speed gearbox taken from the Citroen SM. In 1982, a number of tests were done but the program was ended quickly after that. The car was not found suitable for rally’s after all and so it actually never raced. Only one Lotus Visa prototype was build. It is currently kept in Citroen Heritage Center. A few changes were made to the car it was completed by Lotus. The headlamps were taken from the Visa II and the grille was painted black.
