Citroën Berlingo van goes rallying

The latest Citroën Berlingo van has been put to the ultimate test, with a little help from Citroën World Rally crew Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm.

Hot from their podium finish at Rally Finland, the pair spent a day at Langley Park Rally School in Essex, putting the multi-award winning van through its paces.

Finns Lappi and Ferm didn’t hold back as they traded their C3 WRC for the brand’s best-selling light commercial van (LCV).

The only modifications for the Berlingo, in tough ‘Worker’ trim, were an extra 30mm of ground clearance, skid plates, mud/snow tyres and Grip Control with Hill Descent Assist.

“I was surprised that new Berlingo van handled the rally stage so brilliantly,” said Citroën Total WRT driver Esapekka Lappi.

“The van was strong, very comfortable to drive and managed the corners exceptionally well. I might not swap my C3 WRC for a Berlingo, but it would definitely be useful as a reserve option!”

Matt Weston, Citroën UK LCV Product Manager, added: “WRC has always served as the perfect test bed for many of the technologies we see in our passenger cars today.

“This was an excellent opportunity for us to showcase our best-selling new Berlingo van in a fun and safe way, and really test it to its limits. Although it may not have been quite the performance model Lappi and Ferm are used to, it certainly didn’t disappoint for comfort, robustness and driveability.”