Citroen is gearing up for a big comeback to the FIA World Rally Championship, a motorsport category they used to rule in the days of the C4 and Sebastian Loeb, with a brand-new machine which they’ll unveil at the upcoming Paris Motor Show. The 2017 Citroen C3 WRC Concept looks every bit as serious as a champ car, but how will it fare against the competition?

That is something we have no way of knowing until January 2017 where Citroen C3 WRC Concept goes head to head with the rivals at the Monte Carlo Rally. Then we will know if those good looks, with the two-level light signature, two-tone body/roof and accents matching the colors of the roof, are backed up with enough firepower to make the car a worthy successor to WRC Citroens of the past – cars the brought home for the French car maker eight manufacturers’ titles and a record 96 wins.

The final, rally-ready version of the Citroen C3 WRC will pack a 380bhp engine, boast flexible aerodynamics thanks to a protruding front bumper and a rear bumper fitted with a diffuser as well as an enlarged rear spoiler, and it’ll have an Electronic differential control. Whether it’s successful or not, we would like to see special edition versions of the road-going C3 with design cues from this WRC model. That’ll something worth looking forward to.