The ZX was a newly developed car intended in principle to replace the ordinary BX. To prove the car's reliability Citroen decided to develop a special version to compete in the very demanding desert rallies. PSA's sister firm Peugeot had ended their role in this area with their 405 rally-raid version and some experience could be handed over to the ZX team. The Rallye Raid version was based on the 3 door ZX version which was actually released some years later.
The Rallye Raid project became a great success. From 1991 till 1996 the cars won many rallies including the famous Paris-Dakar and Pharao rallies. In total, since the first race in 1990 they achieved 36 victories out of 42 races!!
Citroen created 5 evolutions from the Rallye Raid, each one of which was changed slightly in 3 sub-versions.
Beneath is an overview of the different evolutions of the car while photos appear on the right.
The first version (Mk1) was officially introduced in July 1990. This version was the basic ZX Rallye Raid looking a lot like a normal ZX on large wheels and raised suspension, together with a big rear spoiler. They were painted bright yellow (CAMEL sponsoring). The engine was not In the front but mid mounted just forward of the rear axle. It was a 1905cc 16valve engine with a Turbo delivering 320hp and a tremendous 490Nm torque. In total 6 gears were available to get this power to all four of the wheels.
The second version (Mk2) was also known as the wide-track version which was developed late 1991 and was intended for the Paris-Beijing rally which was cancelled. Two of these cars were used for the first time in the Paris-Kaapstad rally together with three Mk1's and performed very well. They were still CAMEL yellow but had widened wheel arches to make the wider wheelbase possible.
When the Mk3 car was created by Citroen Sport in 1992 the CAMEL yellow colour was replaced by the Citroen Sport red colour. This was due to new laws in France which prohibited tobacco-sponsoring on cars. The car looked more aggressive, featuring wider bodywork and a nose which no longer resembled that of the bread and butter ZX.
This ZX version received some minor changes over the years - mostly in the nose section. The nose grille changed and the black bar-construction on the nose disappeared.
The Mk4 version was introduced in 1994 having almost the same nose as the last Mk3 version and the front and rear wheel covers had been widened yet again. The wheel-arches behind had a very aggressive circular "beetle" shape. The sideskirt had been widened too to connect both wheel-arches more smoothly. The nose and grille were modified to resemble the facelifted production ZX.
The last version which Citroen developed was introduced in 1995. The car was as wide as the MK4 version but the width applied also to the mid-section where the doors are situated. This gave the car a massive appearance. Thanks to this construction, the car could easily carry spare wheels and it also provided more room for the drivers.
This was the last version of the ZX Rallye Raid. The engine had already become a 2499cc 16valve Garret Turbo unit pushing out over 300hp coupled with a tremendous torque of around 550Nm at 3500 rpm!!
This was the last version of the ZX Rallye Raid. The engine had already become a 2499cc 16valve Garret Turbo unit pushing out over 300hp coupled with a tremendous torque of around 550Nm at 3500 rpm!!
发表于 2011-3-18 14:09
楼主
拉力~~梦想啊，，，