It was Citroen’s big motorsport revolution in a compact-coupe form that led to a highly competitive rally-car.
Unfortunately, the Xsara VTS was way too underrated for its abilities.

Citroen introduced the Xsara lineup in 1997, and it facelifted it four years later. Along with the rest of the range, the carmaker changed the Coupe version. In 1999, a 2WS Xsara kit-car rocked the all-wheel-drive vehicle supremacy in two rallies, and the car became notorious. Its 2.0-liter naturally aspirated engine was a masterpiece, and, most of all, it was quicker and faster than the Golf IV GTI.

While the non-facelifted version featured horizontal, small headlights, Citroen installed new headlights swept-back over the fenders to improve the night-time driving. The designers made room for a wider grille in the front bumper to enhance both the cooling and the car’s look. From its sides, the car retained the same coupe profile with body-colored moldings.

Inside, the Xsara VTS kept the same interior with either wood or aluminum trims. The front seats were high bolstered with good grip on the sides to keep its occupants in place during hard cornering. In the back, the split-folding bench helped increase the trunk size. The car’s profile was closer to a coupe, but it featured a tailgate in the back, so it was between a coupe and a hot-hatch.

Under the hood, the Xsara Coupe featured a choice of three engines, both diesel, and gasoline. Citroen fitted the sportiest version with a 2.0-liter, 16-valves engine paired as standard to a 5-speed manual gearbox.

Citroen introduced the Xsara in 1997 and, in the following year, it offered the Coupe version, which showed a two-door style in a hatchback bodywork.
Citroen designers were not satisfied with a two-door version of an Xsara. They worked harder to create a coupe-looking hatchback and then push the marketing department to approve it for production. In the end, in 1998, the French carmaker unveiled the car, and the sales jumped up immediately. Moreover, the car’s presence in the World Rally Championship increased the company image. It even won two WRC events in 1999, even though it was only two-wheel-drive and not all-wheel-drive like the WRCars.

Even though it shared the same name as the five-door Xsara, it didn’t share too many body panels with that. Apart from the same platform and the similar front fascia, it was a different car. It was even available with specific engines in the VTS version. Its raked windshield and the hunchback greenhouse looked different. In the rear, the Xsara Coupe featured a tailgate in a Kamm-back design.

Inside, the carmaker offered the coupe with different styles and options. From the base, cloth-upholstered interior to the full-option version fitted with Alcantara, Citroen didn’t cut corners and let the customers decide what they wanted for their budget. Unlike other coupes on the market, there was good interior room for four adults. Two people could sit in the back on the 60/40 split-folding bench.

Under the hood, Citroen offered the Xsara a choice of gasoline and turbo-diesel version that covered most of the customers’ needs for a compact-sized coupe.

Launched in 1999, the sportier version of the compact Citroen Xsara made a good impression.
Its low body and high power to weight ratio made for a good French answer against the more-acclaimed german VW Golf GTI.

The Xsara VTS is produced only in two-door hatchback variants, and the engine was a newly developed four-cylinder unit. The 2.0-liter engine is naturally aspirated and develops 167 hp and 197 Nm (145 lb-ft) of torque. With the help of its low weight of only 1190 kg (2623 lbs), the 0-100 kph (0-62 mph) is done in just 6.9 seconds and the car has a top-speed of 225 kph. The transmission is via a five-speed gearbox to the front wheels. Citroen said that there will not be an available automatic gearbox. The brakes are with front and rear discs and ABS is installed as standard.

Inside, there is room for five people, but not too much headroom for the rear-seat passengers. Front seats are bucket-type and will hold occupants tight when hard cornering. The audio system is a radio-cassette player, but as an option, customers could choose a CD-player.

Trunk space is not very big, but it is enough to carry luggage for a weekend trip.