Desert Storm

After clinching two World Rally Championships and conquering the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, the Citroën ZX Rally Raid cars continued the legacy of the iconic Peugeot 205 and 405 Turbo 16 rally cars. The ZX Rally Raid secured four remarkable Paris Dakar Rally titles and the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallying.

One standout example, the Citroën ZX Rally Raid number C05, made its debut as car number 201 at the 1990 Pharaohs Rally. Piloted by the 1981 World Rally Champion and four-time Paris-Dakar Rally winner Ari Vatanen, it achieved an impressive fourth-place finish. In 1991, it competed in the Paris-Tripoli-Dakar Rally as car number 204, driven by Alain Ambrosino to a sixth-place finish out of 184 entrants. Later that year, at the Pharaoh's Rally, Citroën swept the podium, with Ambrosino and Alain Guéhennec driving C05 to third place.

In 1992, it raced in the Paris-Dakar Rally's new Cape Town route as car number 206. Covering 12,427 kilometers, the Citroën finished seventh out of 133 starters, with Pierre Lartigues setting the fastest time in the 14th stage in Gabon. The car's final race was the 1993 Paris-Tangier-Dakar Rally as car number 214, where it placed seventh again with an updated red livery. That year, Citroën Sport triumphed with its ZX Rally Raid, winning the team slot in the inaugural FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallying. Afterward, C05 was used for engine testing before being retired and preserved by Citroën Heritage.

This 1990 Citroën ZX Rallye Raid will feature as part of Broad Arrow Auctions upcoming Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este Auction held between 24-25th May 2025 at Villa Erba in Italy. Photos © Broad Arrow Auctions.