Friday 3rd October 2014

Citroen - Paris 2014

At least there's one French manufacturer keeping it surreal at their home show [pics updated]

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When did the French get all sensible? It's not long since Hall One at every Paris show was filled with the sort of way-out-there concepts that looked like they'd been ripped from Salvador Dali's sketchpad.

It's not slammed, it's aerodynamic

Yet this year Peugeot couldn't get any sillier than an ugly SUV concept and Renault couldn't do better than a new Espace. The EOLAB struggled to garner much attention.

To thanks be to Citroen, for some compellingly old-school frippery. There was a far more interesting green concept in the shape of a 'Hybrid Air' version of the C4 Cactus, featuring PSA's promising compressed air energy recovery system. Okay, so it could only do a claimed 141mpg, but - unlike the EOLAB - you could look at it without dislocating your jaw yawning.

But the star was the Citroen Divine DS concept, a tubby little hatchback with interlocking louvres instead of a back window, a rear-view camera system in place of all that old-fashioned glass and a purple pleated leather interior that looked like it had been rejected by the Moulin Rouge as being 'a bit too much.'

DS does OTT. Marvellous

Apparently it's showing off DS's future styling direction, with Citroen having finally decided to spin its upmarket sub-division into its own brand. Power comes from the familiar 1.6-litre THP 270hp engine as seen in the Peugeot RCZ R - hopefully a precursor for Citroen using the same motor.

Mad, but fun.

 

 

 

[weez123]

Superb stuff!

[r11co]

More proof that there are no new ideas in vehicle styling. The rear end of the Divine DS is just the Alfa Brera (probably even moreso once that silly rear window gets productionised), and the front looks like those snarly new Audi TTs.

Edited by r11co on Friday 3rd October 12:47

[thecremeegg]

r11co said:

More proof that there are no new ideas in vehicle styling. The rear end of the Divine DS is just the Brera (probably moreso once that silly rear window gets productionised), and the front looks like those snarly new Audi TTs.

Edited by r11co on Friday 3rd October 12:45

Design a car that doesn't have any shape from any other car and post it here then? Oh wait you can't, boring!

[r11co]

thecremeegg said:

Design a car that doesn't have any shape from any other car.

Exactly my point.

thecremeegg said:

Oh wait you can't.

Neither can anyone else it seems.

thecremeegg said:

boring!

Aren't you!

Edited by r11co on Friday 3rd October 12:54

[thecremeegg]

r11co said:

thecremeegg said:

Design a car that doesn't have any shape from any other car.

Exactly my point.

thecremeegg said:

Oh wait you can't.

Neither can anyone else it seems.

thecremeegg said:

boring!

Aren't you!

Edited by r11co on Friday 3rd October 12:54

I'm not sure what point you're trying to make? Would you like them to stop designing cars from now on as they can't be 100% original? Or are you just stating the obvious?

[Raman Kandola]

The front of the spirit looks like a beefed up version of the new type r

[whitestu]

Unfortuately Citroen are never going to be able to match what they achieved in the past. To have a similar impact to the DS in 1955 the car would have to be capable of similar feats to Dr Who's tardis!

[rogerhudson]

Back in 1955 Citroen redefined the saloon car and the Cactus shows they are still clever but there 'DS' sub-brand is not good.
The DS3 rides like a cart, from the company of the SM and the Activa, very sad.