SEBASTIEN LOEB GOES ON DISPLAY IN THE 'MUSEE GREVIN'

News from Citroen

Citroën Racing’s seven-time World Rally Champion, Sébastien Loeb, is to become the latest addition to the Grévin Wax Museum – Paris’ equivalent to Madame Tussauds and one of the oldest wax museums in Europe.

Exhibited from 13 October, 2011, Loeb will be the first rally driver to go on display, alongside 250 well known figures includingNicolas Sarkozy, Louis XIV, George Clooney and Michael Jackson.

It took six months to create Loeb’s wax double from the first meeting with sculptor Stéphane Barret and the workshop team.

Loeb found the posing sessions great fun: "I’m very flattered to be part of the Grévin museum. It’s an honour and also recognition for our sport as one that’s representative of France. I must say that I was very impressed by the amount of work that went into creating my figure in wax. It was really unbelievable.”

Everything has to be studied down to the tiniest detail so the resemblance is almost disconcerting. This includes the colour of the hair, the eyes, the skin, handprints etc - nothing was left to chance to make Sébastien Loeb even more lifelike than he is in reality.

Born on 26 February 1974 in Haguenau, Loeb is the most successful rally driver of all time, claiming seven WRC driver’s crowns and more race victories (66) than any other driver. In just ten years he has had a meteoric rise to fame, dominating the sport since 2004 and cementing his reputation as one of the greats in his field.

A Citroën driver from the start, Loeb made his debut and scored a first rally victory in 2001 during the French Championship and the Junior World Championship. He has since won seven consecutive World Rally Championship titles with his friend and co-driver, Daniel Elena. With two events to go until the end of the 2011 season, the crew currently has the lead in the drivers’ overall classification.

Loeb’s wax double will be on show beside rugby player Sébastien Chabal and basketball player Tony Parker in the section of the museum dedicated to sports people. The driver will appear in his Citroën Racing suit.

The Grévin, a private museum created in 1882, is in Paris on the ‘Grands Boulevards’ and welcomes almost 800,000 visitors per year.