Citroen Aircross concept revealed, debuts in Shanghai

The Citroen Aircross concept has been revealed prior to its debut at the Auto Shanghai 2015 exhibition. The concept SUV draws quite a number of cues from the C4 Cactus as it features the same blend of eye-catching elements – some unlikely to make to production should we see a green light from Citroen’s higher-ups.

Production is very much possible as the Citroen Aircross concept rides on the EMP2 (Efficient Modular Platform 2) scalable platform which underpins several production cars such as the Peugeot 308 and Citroen Grand C4 Picasso – and what a large car it could make as the show car measures in at 4,580 mm in length, is 2,100 mm wide and 1,800 mm tall. In other words, almost as large as a Land Rover Discovery Sport.

Up front, the narrow head lamp assemblies appear to be integrated into the frame of the Citroen badge, which now sees its ‘wings’ span the entire length of the front before drooping down into the lower half. Below, the ‘Air Curtains’, or air intakes as unimaginative folks would call it, are not just there for looks as Citroen touts aerodynamic improvements as a result of its inclusion.

Moving further back, massive 22-inch wheels are clad in suitably aggressive 275/45 off-road tyres while the inclusion of ‘Air Signs’ that frame the rear window are, once again, positioned as aero-improving addenda. Down below, the ‘air bumps‘ first seen on the C4 Cactus have now metamorphosed into ‘alloy bumps’ that are made out of aluminium honeycomb castings surrounded by reinforced rubber.

Under the bonnet, the Aircross concept is powered by a 1.6 litre petrol engine developing 218 hp and 275 Nm of torque, which is then mated to a rear-mounted, lithium-ion-powered electric motor with 95 hp and 200 Nm – total power output is 313 hp. The result is a plug-in hybrid setup that’s capable of sending the Citroen Aircross from rest to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds as well as providing an all-electric range of up to 50 km.

Swing open the ‘suicide doors’ and the interior blends typical concept car flair with several production-feasible elements such as the massive 12-inch mobile screen mounted on the centre console. Elsewhere, the interior carries on what Citroen calls the ‘sofa spirit’ with a lack of chrome – replaced by brushed aluminium and liberal applications of Teflon coated surfaces.

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