Citroën reportedly readying hot hybrid DS4 Racing model

If you're still scratching your head trying to figure out what to make of the new Citroën DS4, get ready to be even more confused. Emerging reports from across the pond indicate that the French automaker is preparing a performance version of the premium hatchback/crossover/whats-it in the same vein as the DS3 Racing... only taller. And with a few more doors.

Presumed to be called the DS4 Racing, the high-performance version of the vehicle slated to debut in Paris later this month, will ostensibly target the bigger hot hatches already on the market, like the Volkswagen Golf GTI and Renaultsport Megane 250.

Performance-oriented trim inside and out – from the two-tone aero kit and upsized wheels to the racing buckets and flat-bottomed steering wheel – will give the DS4 Racing an aggressive attitude, but the real party trick will be sitting under the hood. Citroën is reportedly working on adapting the HYbrid4 through-the-road all-wheel drive system to couple the 200-horsepower 1.6-liter turbo four from the Peugeot RCZ with an electric boost.

With the DS4 still to be publicly unveiled and the DS3 Racing just hitting the market now, sources don't expect the DS4 Racing to arrive before 2013.

[Source: Auto Express]