2014 Citroen DS3 Cabrio Racing

We know it may be hard to believe for those of us now covered in snow, but the summer wasn't that long ago, and won't be that long away, either. Just this past summer, Citroën rolled in to the Goodwood Festival of Speed with the DS3 Cabrio Racing Concept, a show car that – not unlike the Fiat 500C Abarth – combined the best attributes of the DS3 Cabrio and the firecracker DS3 Racing hot hatch. It wasn't long after that the concept was mooted for production, and now that day has come.

Announced together with Citroën's motorsport program for next season (when it will contest both the World Rally Championship and World Touring Car Championship), the most we've seen until now of the production DS3 Cabrio Racing has been a solitary image released with little in the way of details. But with a little prodding, the folks at Citroën were kind enough to spill the full beans on the new cloth-top hot hatch.

What we're looking at is a fairly faithful translation of the concept to production, with only a few discernable trim differences (like black mirror caps instead of chrome and body-colored front lip spoiler instead of red) to be gleaned. Power comes from the same 1.6-liter turbo four as the DS3 Racing hatchback (now quoted at an incrementally higher 207 horsepower that likely comes down to a rounding error), driving the front set of 18-inch wheels through a six-speed manual. Only instead of the glossy grey paintjob with flashy graphics and bright orange roof, this version has a matte grey finish with subtle anodized red accents and a fabric roof panel that folds back.

Weighing only 55 pounds more than the hatchback, performance is quoted at 6.5 seconds to 62 mph, covering the standing kilometer (3,280 feet) in 26.5 seconds. Only a limited quantity of individually-numbered examples will be available – though just how many, we don't know – starting next month. See the press release below for details and the image gallery above for a closer look on this particular piece of forbidden fruit we wouldn't mind getting our hands on.