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Euro 5 engines, new lamps and SOS call for Citroen C5

October 26, 2010 at 3:24 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Citroën, International News

The handsome Citroen C5 has undergone a mild update, consisting of minor tweaks to the looks, new engines and an emergency assist system. Exterior wise, LEDs have been integrated into the headlights while the rear light clusters get a new ‘Dark Crystal’ treatment with clear glass in the central section. These model year 2011 changes are applicable to both saloon and Tourer versions.

The C5 range now has a full Euro 5 compliant engine line-up with the introduction of the 1.6 HDi 110 hp Euro 5 to replace the Euro 4 version. The 1.6 THP 155 hp petrol engine and the 3.0 HDi V6 240 hp unit have been re-homologated. Combined fuel economy increases from 14.1 km/l to 14.9 km/l and 13.5 km/l to 13.9 km/l respectively. CO2 emissions are also down 14 g/km and 6 g/km respectively.

European C5 customers can now enjoy Citroen’s new eTouch Emergency & Assistance System. This service automatically or manually makes emergency calls and allows manual assistance calls – using a built-in SIM card – for rapid response in the event of an accident or if the car is immobilised.

eTouch also allows drivers to consult information online at their ‘MyCITROEN’ personal space, which allows them to monitor their vehicle’s maintenance schedule. Available 24/7, these services are free.

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BMW and PSA Peugeot Citroën to expand cooperation by jointly developing hybrid systems

October 19, 2010 at 11:47 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under BMW, Cars, Citroën, International News, Peugeot

BMW PSA logo

Having enjoyed a fruitful cooperation on engines thus far, BMW and PSA Peugeot Citroën is set to expand on the level of colloboration, with the joint development of hybrid components for front-wheel drive vehicles next on the cards.

The components will be used in front-wheel-drive vehicles with electrified drive trains. BMW and PSA state that joint development and component production, as well as shared purchasing, will allow not just standardisation of key elements for electric vehicles, but mean lower costs for both partners in the long run.

Earlier in the year, both companies agreed to develop the next generation of their jointly designed Prince four-cylinder petrol engine, which will meet EU 6 requirements.

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Sebastien Loeb wins his seventh WRC World Championship

October 9, 2010 at 1:10 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Citroën, International News, Motorsports

Sebastian Loeb who recently won the Rally de France has in effect secured his seventh World Rally Championship Title. He has now collected a total of 226 championship points making it impossible for the other drivers to play catch-up with two more races to go.

Citroen secured a one two finish with Loeb’s teammate Dani Sordo gaining the second fastest time. Sordo is only fifth in the Championship title, but this does mean that Citroen are winners of the manufacturers’ championship.

Thus the battle for 2nd and 3rd has commenced, with Sebastien Ogier currently in 2nd with 166 points and Jari-Matti Latvala in 3rd with 144. Kimi Raikkonen is 10th with a respectable 21 points. The two rallies left are the Spanish and the British leg of the Championship.

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Paris 2010: Loeb’s new machine, the Citroen DS3 WRC

October 3, 2010 at 12:04 am By Danny Tan Filed Under 2010 Paris Motor Show, Cars, Citroën, Motorsports

We showed you the great looking Ford Fiesta RS WRC yesterday, and the car that it has to beat in next year’s World Rally Championship is this, the Citroen DS3 WRC.

If you’ve been on another planet, Citroen has won five Manufacturer’s World Champion titles and six Driver & Co-driver titles with Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena, and the Sebs (the other DS3 WRC will be driven by Sébastien Ogier) will be banking on this new machine to continue their dominance of the sport. In the current WRC season, with three rounds to go, Loeb leads the championship from Ogier and looks set for his seventh title. The guy is unbeatable.

Using the shell of their DS3 premium hatchback, Citroen’s new car replaces the C4 WRC and conforms to the new rules set by the FIA. More compact than its predecessor, the DS3 WRC uses a 300 hp 1.6-litre direct-injection turbocharged engine tuned by Citroen Racing. The 4WD transmission incorporates a six-speed sequential gearbox and front/rear mechanical differentials.

By the way, FIA’s new rules for next season was designed to limit the budgets required to compete in WRC. It bans expensive materials such as titanium and carbon fibre, while standardising parts like the turbocharger and limiting the changes that can be made to the car throughout the season.

Gallery after the jump.
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Visteon to showcase C-beyond concept based on C4 Picasso at 2010 Paris Motor Show

September 29, 2010 at 7:26 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under 2010 Paris Motor Show, Cars, Citroën, International News, Technology

Visteon will be showcasing a concept vehicle at the 2010 Paris Motor Show called the C-Beyond, based on the Citroen C4 Picasso, developed in partnership with styling firm Estech.

The concept is meant to preview the company’s technologies as an auto component manufacturer to automakers and the general public. “These concepts are designed to inspire vehicle manufacturers to ‘see beyond’ the conventional role of the vehicle to create an innovative user experience enabled by Visteon’s technology and advanced development,” according to Visteon product group head, Steve Meszaros.

This will include advanced connectivity that provides driver coaching and real-time traffic updates for the navigation system. Personal comfort features on the other hand, will include their Visteon vertical airflow concept that creates four discrete vertical airflow zones. This allows for the omission of vents in the back, as it automatically adjusts the flow according to the amount of passengers in the car.

Apart from that it will also feature Visteon’s high-intensity headlamp LED projector module that provides all main beam patterns, camera-driven adaptive high-beam system along with a glare free mode. Not all innovations in automotive technology are developed by the manufacturers, alot of the time it’s the component suppliers that comes up with the new and cool stuff in their respective fields, and then they look for a pioneer automaker to adopt it.

A picture gallery is available after the jump – you should really look at every single photo – many of the new ‘concepts’ you’ll see could make it to production cars soon.
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Citroen Survolt concept takes on the Agni Z2 electric bike!

September 23, 2010 at 12:04 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Bikes, Citroën, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Videos

The battle of the electrics has commenced! The all-electric Citroen Survolt concept recently went head to head with the fully electric Agni Z2 motorbike, at UK’s Thruxton Race Circuit. Behind the wheel of the Citroen Survolt was none other than Le Mans racer Vanina Ickx and piloting the electric bike was British superbike racer Jenny Tinmouth.

The Survolt concept as we know, is capable of accelerating to 100km/h in under 5 seconds, going on to reach a top speed of 260km/h thanks to it’s 220kW/300hp twin electric motors. It’s 31kW lithium ion batteries allow the Survolt to offer up to 200 kilometers in terms of driving range.

The Agni Z2 is no slouch either, even if it only produces about 50kW/65hp from its electric motor, it gets to the 100km/h mark in just 3.5 seconds! The two-wheeler’s top speed is figured at 209km/h.

Catch the video of the two ladies of motorsport in action, as they take their electric monsters round the track. But don’t expect to hear the screams of roaring engines, just the whine of electric motors. Look for a picture gallery and a video after the jump.

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French brands unite to create Citroen Lacoste Concept

September 21, 2010 at 9:40 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, Citroën, Concept Cars

Two French brands have teamed up to make a concept design set for a Paris preview. This will be Lacoste and Citroen with their new Citroen Lacoste Concept.

The car is motivated by a three-cylinder engine, which Citroen says provides “plenty of performance for a vehicle of its weight and size”. This is because its about the size of a Toyota Aygo or Citroen C1 and measures in at about 3.45m long, 1.80m wide and 1.52m high.

As you would expect, design of the car mainly concentrates on the whole Lacoste theme. This is seen on the car which sports “golf ball-styled” set of alloy wheels and parts of the body that resemble tennis nets.

They complement the unique feature roof, which is a structure that extends back to the boot like a convertible Jeep. Adding to that is the door-less architecture that gives it a roomy feel. Check out the picture gallery after the jump.

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Citroen DS4 unveiled prior to Paris 2010 debut

August 30, 2010 at 4:41 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Citroën, International News

Citoren has unveiled yet another new model in its DS range – the Citroen DS4, bringing the new modern DS line-up up to a total of two models so far.

It’s essentially a very high spec Citroen C4, using the same platform, however dimensions are a little different. It’s shorter, taller and wider than the C4, and while the interior pretty much has a similar design except with much higher grade materials, on the exterior you can notice that the shape of the car between the B and C pillar of the DS4 is noticeably shorter than the C4. The rear door handles have also been hidden in the window trim.

The Citroen DS4 will be available with a choice of 5 engines – two HDi diesels and three petrol engines. The most powerful is the 200 horsepower THP petrol engine, joined by a THP 155 and a VTi 120. All three are different variants of the 1.6 litre BMW-PSA Prince engine, with the THPs being turbocharged and the VTi being a normally aspirated model. You can either have these with a manual transmission or a Citroen EGS transmission which is an AMT-type automated clutch manual.

Look after the jump for more photos and a full press release.
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Citroen Grand C4 Picasso now with 1.6L Prince engine!

July 14, 2010 at 11:26 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Citroën, Local News

Brooklands/Competitive Supreme sent over sometime this month a new pricelist for the Citroen and Ssangyong cars they sell. There have been a few price changes but I saw something that piqued my interest – it looks like the 143 horsepower 2.0 litre Citroen Grand C4 Picasso has been replaced by a new model – the Citroen Grand C4 Picasso 1.6 Turbo with 6-speed EGS transmission. The horsepower increase looks minimal – it’s now 150 horsepower but torque is far higher now and also achieved at a very low RPM thanks to the turbocharger.

This makes it the first Citroen in Malaysia to be powered by the PSA-BMW Prince engine that we can find in MINIs and Peugeots on our local soil. The choice of gearbox is also quite interesting. BMW mates the engine in its MINI to a 6-speed Aisin transmission. Peugeot at first used a 4-speed Porsche Tiptronic transmission but are phasing this out in favor of a new 6-speed AT6 box, which like the MINI transmission is supplied by Aisin.

In the Grand C4 Picasso, the Prince engine is mated to a 6-speed BMP6 Electronic Gearbox System transmission from Magneti Marelli, which is basically a manual transmission with an electro-hydraulically operated clutch, much like Selespeed or BMW SMG. This will minimize transmission losses, allowing better fuel efficiency since more of the engine power can get to the wheels. But certain single-clutch AMT transmission can be notoriously rough, so we only find out how smooth Citroen’s EGS is with a test drive. This 6-speeder also includes steering mounted gearshift paddles. Peugeot has used this gearbox in the Peugeot RCZ Hybrid4 concept car.

The price tag has also dropped from the initial price of RM168,000 when the 2.0 litre normally aspirated model was first introduced to a new pricetag of RM158,740 OTR without insurance. UPDATE: The price is now at RM138k non-OTR – clearing stock? It looks like a nice alternative to your choice of a Honda Stream or what not but you may also want to wait for the upcoming Peugeot 5008 which basically rides on the same platform, has a similar engine (with extra 6 horsepower but the same torque) but a regular 6-speed automatic transmission instead of an automated manual. Compare the two before you decide.

I’n not sure whether Brooklands did a launch for this new C4 model or not – if they had one we weren’t invited. So this is basically all I can tell you based on the price list, international specs, and the info on Brooklands’ website. The other two cars offered by Citroen right now is the Citroen C5 2.0 Exclusive with automatic transmission for RM199,028.50 and the Citroen C6 3.0 V6 Exclusive with automatic transmission, going for RM400,645.

Over to the Ssangyong priceless, I was surprised to see the 11-seater Ssangyong Stavic’s price – it’s now going for only RM102,044.99, powered by a Mercedes-Benz 2.7 litre turbodiesel engine and a 5-speed auto. It’s seriously huge and that price is pretty value if you can get over the post-warranty maintenance and the looks of the monster. The Kyron SUV is going for RM151,113.20. The Actyon goes for RM89,989.20 for the pick-up truck and RM134,089.20 for the SUV. The large Rexton RX270 XDi SUV goes for RM169,828.60.

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GALLERY: Otherworldly Citroën Survolt takes on Le Mans

July 14, 2010 at 2:09 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, Citroën, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News

The otherworldly Citroën Survolt racing car concept made its first all-electric laps of Le Mans circuit last weekend, at the Le Mans Classic event. First seen at this year’s Geneva show, the Survolt was piloted by Vanina Ickx, daughter of Belgian Formula One driver Jacky Ickx.

The experienced racer gave the Survolt the thumbs up. “I am very proud to have participated in this unique project. On the track it felt really good. It’s a real race car, with a very promising potential for the future,” she said

The Survolt, which features the same dramatic design language as the GTbyCITROËN (which was also driven on track) but in a more compact shape, is powered by a 140 kg lithium ion battery and two electric motors producing 300 hp. With that, the car does 0-100 km/h in less than five seconds on to a top speed of 260 km/h. The battery is good for a 200 km range and can be recharged in two hours with a specialised power supply or in 10 hours with a standard 220V plug.

Images after the jump.
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