Oh this one's bound to be a squeaker. Daniel Sordo and teammate Sebastien Loeb are trading leads in their new Citroen C4s, while two-time champeen Marcus Gronholm, in his Ford Focus, is trailing Loeb by just over a half-minute. Must be exciting to watch — only we have to read about it in the freaking International Herald Tribune, because TV is Nascar country. That brings us to the question of the day. Where are you watching, or more likely, how are you keeping track of the the WRC season kickoff Monte Carlo Rally? (Anyone watching Rally Live?) Sound off below.

Loeb defends lead at season-opening Monte Carlo Rally [International Herald Trombone]

Related:
More on WRC

Fans of Citroen's odd-duck people haulers, look over here. The new, 5-seat Citr en C4 Picasso MPV broke cover today, capping off months of spy shots, speculation and Nutella-and-banana crepes (for some of us). It's the more compact in the company's line of MPVs, with style cues that reflect the company's "visiospace" concept — which emphasizes peripheral visibility and light — such as as a wraparound windshield and a greenhouse that would shame Monsanto. But is it enough to compete with Renault's Scenic series? Hah. Just kidding. – Mike Spinelli

Related:
Spy Photos: Citroen Picasso Five Seater [internal]

Those crazy frogs — always coming up with something to get us to love them again. First it was baguettes after WWI — then it was hot chicks with hairy pits after WWII — this time they've helped to quash those robot withdrawal symptoms with those funky-fresh transformin' Citroen C4 ads. Oh yes, our use of the plural was correct —as we reported earlier this week, there's now a second ad. And now we've got the video to prove it. It'll have to hold us until the new Transformers movie comes out next year — or until the trailer hits theaters next month.

New Citroen Transformer Ad [YouTube]

Related:
Breakin II: Optimus Boogaloo: Citroen C4 to Do the Robot — Again [internal]

Why you should buy this car: Because you re not a getaway driver, but you d sure as Hell like to be.

Why you shouldn t buy this car: Once you get on the 911 ownership express, you can t get off. Don t get me wrong: sexually, you re still good. I mean there s nothing else on four-wheels worth buying — except more expensive variants: C4S, Turbo, Turbo S. And then they re-engineer the model and it starts all over again. The C4 may not be dangerous, but it s a dangerous addiction.

Suitability Parameters:
· Speed Merchants: Yes
· Fashion Victims: Yes
· Treehuggers: No
· Mack Daddies: No
· Tuner Crowd: No
· Hairdressers: No
· Penny Pinchers: No
· Euro Snobs: Yes
· Working Stiffs: No
· Technogeeks: Yes
· Poseurs: Yes
· Soccer Moms: No
· Nascar Dads: Yes
· Golfing Grandparents: No

Vitals:
· Manufacturer: Porsche
· Model tested: 911 C4 (997)
· Model year: 2006
· Price as Tested: $77,100
· Engine type: 3.6-liter DOHC 24-valve flat-6
· Horsepower: 325 hp @ 6100rpm
· Torque: 273 ft.-lbs. @ 2750 rpm
· Redline: NA
· Wheels and Tires: Pirelli 295/35ZR-18
· Drive type: all-wheel-drive
· 0 - 60: 5.2 secs.
· 1/4 mile: 12.9 secs
· Top speed: 174 mph
· Fuel economy city/highway: 13/27
· NHTSA crash test rating front/side/rollover: Not tested

[by Robert Farago]

Related:
Jalopnik Reviews: 2006 Porsche Carrera 4, Part 1, Part 2 [internal]

Exterior Design: *****
The 911 s highly-evolved form is a bit like democracy: you love it to the very core of your being, but you re not in love with it. The new gen 911 s Coke-bottle-meets-suppository shape is slightly more emotive, but it s still a sports car in an Armani suit: elegant without drawing attention to itself. In fact, let s face it, the damn thing needs spizzarkle. The beefier, wide-hipped C4 s adds a welcome bit of blingage, though not enough to worry the in-your-face aerodynamicists at Gemballa.

Acceleration: ****
Plenty of that, and smooth enough to make you wonder why the ABS kicked in when it s the rev limiter doing its thing. The fifth star is withheld because the C4 could easily handle four, maybe five hundred brake horsepower — which would elevate the car from stupidly quick to jet fighter fast. Although the forthcoming Turbo will do just that, we d like to see this car get a bit closer to the uber-Porker s prodigious power.

Braking: *****
Batten down the hatches boys. When you press the C4 s middle pedal anything that isn t welded to the car is going flying. Never in the course of automotive history has so much mass de-accelerated with such violence and self-assurance. Ceramic anchors are an expensive [and colorful] option, but the standard fit stoppers are more than strong enough for us to recommend that drivers with glasses should wear a Croakie and cinch that sucker tight.

Ride: *****
The old, relatively heavy C4 was a bit of a noisy, rough-riding thing, especially when fitted with high-performance rubber. Carve another notch in that engineering belt of yours Fritz; the Germans have found a way to add more comfort whilst dialing-in extra body control. The C4 still isn t a magic carpet for corner-aversive poseurs or cornerless Miamians, but why should we care about them, exactly?

Handling: *****
The C4 is handling. The Porker s unflappable chassis and the point-and-shoot four-wheel-drive system let this car do things with ease that lesser machines can t do. The C4 s ability to corner at fantastic speeds is simply awesome — in the original sense of standing mute in the face of God, not those socks are awesome. There s so much lateral force involved sports seats are go. We understand the perspective of purists who condemn the C4 as a de-skilling machine, who prefer cars that encourage them to let it all hang out. We ll be sure and wave as we pass.

Gearbox: ****
The six-speed swaps cogs with swift, sensual satisfaction. Although there s absolutely nothing wrong with the C4 s gearbox, it s high time Porsche joined the paddle shift brigade. Now that the Sultans of Stuttgart have bought a piece of VW, the installation of Audi s superb DSG system into the Porsche family of sports cars can t come soon enough.

Audio/Video: ***
The BOSE system kicks butt, but we have serious issues with Porsche s ICE and HVAC interface. When you consider the C4 s capabilities during glove-wearing weather, you ve got to wonder why Porsche opted for Chicklet-sized buttons. A touch screen would have been a better solution.

Toys: *****
The C4 is the ultimate toy.

Trunk: **
Everyday supercar yada, yada, yada. Once again, the C4 s four-wheel-drive gubbins rob the front trunk of half its cubic capacity. Given the G-forces generated, the rear deck s lack of a cargo net makes interior storage a deadly proposition.

Overall rating: *****

[by Robert Farago]

Related:
Jalopnik Reviews: 2006 Porsche Carrera 4, Part 1; Part 3 [internal]

The Porsche 911 Carrera 4 has been described as the Swiss Army knife of sports cars. Hmmmm. As far as I know, no homicidal maniac has ever practiced his wet work using one of Switzerland s multi-bladed marvels, whereas the new C4 can dissect a twisting road and leave it for dead faster than you can say Benchmade Gravitator. Sure, the C4 is great in the snow, practical for kids and stuff, and cruises highways with mindless ease. But the all-wheel-drive Carrera is sports car as Armani-clad psycho killer: a vehicle that slices and dices the time space continuum before the laws of physics even realize it s there.

Don t trot out your Vettes and lecture me about zero to sixty and quarter miles times. Obviously, there are faster cars. But when it comes to blasting around corners at extralegal velocities like your life depended on it — because it does — the C4 is The Chosen One. This is the sports car that maintains its death grip on the tarmac when all the other pretenders have twirled off into the scenery; that let s you know when you re about to make a mistake; that tells you when you ve just made a mistake; that gives you a chance to rectify your mistake; that shrugs its computerized shoulders and sorts it all out for you — so you can try again. For example

Hydroplaning at 110+ mph, I saw the C4 s electronic Nanny winking at me, felt the back end wagging mischievously and heard my cohort say Aaaaaaannnnnd we re back. Charging up an onramp at insane miles per hour, sensing the C4 s front tires juddering, I de-throttled, re-gained traction and resumed hostilities. Passing a Buick Century on a country road, spotting an unidentified farm object, I jammed on the brakes and threw the wheel hard over. Hakuna mutata uber alles.

Remember: the preceding is a list of what the British call a moment . It doesn t describe the hundreds of corners, straights and slower vehicles that the C4 terminated with extreme prejudice. I have no idea how many times I exited a fast curve in the C4 chiding myself for my own timidity, muttering I could have done that at X plus 30mph , looked down and saw some inexplicably large number on the digital display. No other sports car made inspires so such confidence at such time-bending velocities with such disdainful ease.

Speaking of disdain, purists will once again protest that any car that distributes its power to all four corners can t possibly provide a real driver sufficient involvement . That s like saying a prostitute can t possibly have an orgasm. The Porsche 911 C4 steers, accelerates, stops and changes gears with all the sensual satisfaction of its rear-wheel-drive sibling. The only difference between the two cars is a few fractions of a second and the fact that the C4 won t drift unless thoroughly, mercilessly, unconscionably, provoked.

If driving sideways at warp speed on a public road makes you a true enthusiast, color me faux. When I m driving deep in (not to) the auto zone, I prefer sense and sensibility. In fact, Jane, the Porsche C4 is everything I need in a sports car. Except for one thing: horsepower. While calling the new C4 slow would be like calling Tom Cruise a psychologist, this wide-hipped time machine has all the chassis and braking power it needs to handle four hundred horses. Easy. Roll on the new Porsche Turbo. [by Robert Farago]

Related:
Jalopnik Reviews: 2006 Porsche Carrera 4, Part 2; Part 3 [internal]