Archive for Citroën

This is basically a rebadged Mitsubishi i MiEV, due to go on sale in Europe in Q4 2010 under the Citroen brand. It is a expansion of an existing collaboration between Mitsubishi and PSA Peugeot-Citroen, where the French marques badge-engineered the Mitsubishi Outlander as their own SUVs. But with the Outlander they made significant changes to the exterior sheet metal, with the C-Zero the MiEV looks very much unchanged.

Drive is via a permanent magnet synchronous motor making 64 horses between 3,000rpm to 6,000rpm and peak torque of 180Nm from 0 to 2,000rpm. The motor is powered by a 330V lithium-ion battery made of 88 x 50Ah cells. You can recharge the batteries via a regular cord into a 220V socket. Regular charging takes 6 hours, and a 80% can be done in half an hour if you use an external charger which supplies a single-phase current of 125A at 400V.

Citroen will be launching more alternative fuel vehicles such as a full hybrid vehicle called the Citroen DS5 in 2011.

Citroen will be exhibiting the car above at the Frankfurt show but other than this photo we don’t know any other details at the moment, not even whether it is a concept or a production model, though by the looks of it, it should be a concept.

It definitely looks like a small car though, something smaller than the C3, perhaps a new C2 or maybe a C1 (current C1 is a badge engineered Peugeot 107/Toyota Aygo from the B-Zero project). It could also be a smaller car in the new DS premium range.

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Click for enlarged image

There’s bound to be a convertible coming up in the new DS range by Citroen but not right now anyway. After all, other premium small cars like the MINI and the Fiat 500 have drop top versions, but not the MiTo though. Theophilus Chin has whipped up a convertible version of the DS3. Theophilus says this is his idea of what a replacement for the Citroen C3 Pluriel would look like.

Citroen has unveiled the new DS3, a hatchback that Citroen wants to give a premium positioning. Think MINI and you’ll understand what I mean. It’s for buyers who have seen past the need for a large car and more metal to offer premium features and a premium image.

The DS line of cars will feature three models and this is the first: the DS3. It measures 3,950mm long, 1,710mm wide and 1,450mm tall. This makes it similiar in size to the new MINI Clubman, though the DS3 is slightly larger in every dimension.

Typical of Citroen, the exterior styling details are a little quirky, such as the shark-fin B-pillar. The DS3 is fully customisable in term of trim level, even the colour of the wheels, fabric, gearknob, exterior trim, and even the ‘floating roof’ is customisable – you can have it in either black, white, blue or red, to contrast it with the main body colour.

A choice of 5 engines are available – the 90hp and 110hp HDi diesels with DPFS fliters, and three petrol engines – the VTi 95, VTi 120 and the turbocharged THP 150. Only manuals are available for now, either 5-speed or 6-speed depending on the engine specified.

Look after the jump for a photo gallery of the new DS3.

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Words are being exchanged that French auto maker Citroen, will unveil the production version of the DS3 three-door as early as September this year, at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The production DS3 will be inspired by the DS Inside Concept which was showcased at this year’s motor event in Geneva. A number of design elements will be carried over into production, and rumor has it that the vinyl roof option may be offered as well.

According to Autocar, Citroen also revealed that both the DS4 and DS5 models will arrive in 2011, as 2012 models. The DS4 would be a coupe-ish MPV with a crossover touch, that will be based on the C-Sportlounge Concept, first shown in 2005.

The DS5 on the other hand is expected to compete with the BMW X6, but with a cheaper price tag as one of it’s benefits over the German offering. The DS5 will be based on the Hypnos Concept, showcased in Paris last year. It is expected to be powered by, among others, a diesel-hybrid engine. The DS range, including all the above mentioned vehicles will be part of Citroen’s new up market vehicle line up.

Car manufacturers have been revealing latest generation versions of their large displacement diesel engines one by one. We have BMW’s new N57, Volvo’s new twin turbodiesel, and another similiar unit from Jaguar.

The latest manufacturer to unveil a new turbodiesel engine is PSA Peugeot Citroen, who will be putting a new 3.0 liter HDi V6 turbodiesel in their C5 and C6. The new engine produces 240hp, up from 208hp in the outgoing 2.7 liter HDi, but is between 13 to 17 percent more fuel efficient and 12 to 15% less polluting in terms of CO2 emissions, also Euro 5 compliant. The engine also has an alternator that does brake energy recovery.

In the C5 and C6, the engine will be mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. BTW I have more than one occasion spotted the Citroen C5 in Malaysia, although it has not been launched yet as far as I know. It may be due for a launch soon, if not already launched.

The C4 facelift has been extended to the notchback sedan model in China and with the facelift comes a namechange – the C-Triomphe is now known as the Citroen C-Quatre.

Sedan models or at least a notchback is important in China as like Malaysian and unlike Europe, the market there favors cars with boots. The new name is an obvious tribute to the original C4 name, which they probably decided not to use in China because of the meanings associated with the number 4.

Citroen’s stand at Auto Shanghai 2009 encompasses a 1,000 square meter stand which showcases the C4 WRC rally car, the GTbyCITOREN GT5 tie-in concept car, the C3 Picacco, and the C-Elysee powered by CNG. Next up for Citroen in China will be the new DS line.

Look after the jump for more pix of the C-Quatre.

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Vincent Besson, an executive for Citroen revealed in Geneva that the auto maker has confirmed its intention to produce the GTbyCitroen based on a limited production run of probably 20 units. The GTbyCitroen first appeared in the Gran Turismo 5 game based on the Playstation 3 platform and its full-scale model was featured in Paris.

The GTbyCitroen would become the first car to be produced based a video game. Besson did not reveal a production schedule and other details, but the GTbyCitroen will most probably feature a V8, supplied by either Ford or struggling General Motors.

The full scale model measures 4.960 meters long, 2.080 meters wide and 1.090 meters high, which is considered pretty big for a super car. Other features included in the scale; large wheel arches, 21-inch alumimium wheels, LED lights that project information to the driver and “gullwing” styled doors. Lets just keep a watchful eye on racing games these days, as you would not know, what might just end up being produced! Continue reading to view an image gallery.

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Citroen will be bringing back the DS nameplate to its range of vehicles. DS is pronounced Deesse, which pronounced in French means Goddess. The DS was a showcase of technology of sorts, for a car introduced in the 1950s it had a hydropneumatic suspension, a robotized gearbox (without automatic selection though so its more of a robotized clutch), an it had an air-cooled flat-6 gearbox that was mounted in a MF layout, mid-engined, front wheel drive.

The new DS line will be targetted at those who enjoy motoring with no loss in practicality. It is meant to offer prestige, thrills and refinement, without the rigid codes of traditional upper-range models. It aims to appeal to the affluent customer who has downsized in his vehicle size but are on the lookout for more economical and intelligent products.

This new concept car called the Citroen DS Inside Concept and is a preview of the upcoming DS range. The new DS range will consist initially of 3 cars in the small, medium and large segments. Its naming system will carry the DS name, much like its mainstream cars are prefixed by “C” and its MPVs a “Picasso” suffix. The three cars will be called the DS3, the DS4 and the DS5. DS will stand for “Different Spirit”.

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We first heard of a joint study between Mitsubishi and PSA Peugeot Citroen to evaluate a potential cooperation between the two companies on the supply of electric vehicles back in June 2008. The study also included evaluating the feasibility of shared production sites for producing components for electric vehicles.

Japanese newspaper The Nikkei (the same guys who reported the Suzuki Kizashi would be axed) now reports that the deal went through and Mitsubishi will supply the French company up to 10,000 electric cars a year by the year 2011. This could include the Mitsubishi i MiEV, which is shown above as an artist’s impression with Peugeot styling (look after the jump for a Citroen version).

PSA would benefit by getting electric car technology fast, while Mitsubishi would benefit from PSA’s vast distributor network in Europe, which would be beneficial for Mitsu’s coffers anyway since they are the supplier, despite the cars not having Mitsubishi badges.

Source

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