FRANKFURT MOTOR SHOW: Citroen Cactus

Not to be confused with the concept of the same name revealed in 2007, Citroen has revealed an all-new Cactus concept that could preview a radical departure for its C4 model line.

Revealed here following an official teaser image a week ago, the Cactus Concept is a distinctive five-door crossover wagon described as “a vision for the future of Citroën’s C-line”.

According to Autocar, the show car will hit European showrooms from next February, badged as the Citroen C4 Cactus and largely unchanged from the show car pictured here.

Like the C4 Picasso people-mover, it will reportedly be offered alongside the standard C4 hatchback, but if the model proves successful, the French car-maker has indicated it could replace the existing mainstream models in a number of Citroen’s C model lines.

“For now, the standard C4 has many years ahead of it in its product cycle, so we have time to evaluate the success of the Cactus line,” said Citroën chief Frederic Banzet. “However, our research suggests that it will be a sales success. We have chosen to develop a line that will be loved by some and hated by some – it is better that way than being an average choice in an overcrowded market.”

Cactus design manager Mark Lloyd suggested that just as Citroen’s DS model family offers a premium alternative to the Parisian car-maker’s conventional models, the Cactus could spawn a new line of “people’s cars” priced slightly higher than existing Citroen models.

“The DS line has shown that customers want cars that stand for something,” he said. “With this concept and then the C4 Cactus we are defining what the C-line represents and clarifying what it stands for. We are rediscovering the best things in our history. As a car company we have produced the DS – the president’s car – and the 2CV – the people’s car. With DS and Cactus we can get some of that back.”

Expected to be based on the PSA Peugeot Citroen group’s new EMP2 platform, the Cactus measures 4.21 metres long, 1.75 metres wide and 1.53 metres high, but carries a tall 210mm of ground clearance.

Unique design cues include impact-absorbing ‘Airbumps’ around the edges of the car and the lack of B-pillars and side and rear windows, focusing attention on the radical interior, which features all-digital controls on two separate screens mounted on a slim-line dashboard and sofa-style front and rear bench seats.

Apart from a central eight-inch touch-screen that operates everything from climate-control and satellite navigation to the sound system and all driver aids, the gearlever has been replaced by push-button controls on the dash and paddles behind the steering wheel, but it’s not clear how much of this technology will reach production.

“There are typical concept car flourishes, but they are all there to accentuate our goals – nothing is superfluous. You will clearly recognise the production car from this concept,” said Lloyd.

“We think that some of the established automotive design standards of today are lacking. We wanted to reduce the complexity of living with a car and make interaction with the car less stressful. Simplicity and elegance were the goals. Citroën should be about innovation and well-being; this car is our manifesto for that.”

Mechanically, the Cactus is fitted with the same Hybrid Air technology previously shown by Peugeot and combining a conventional petrol-powered engine with a compressed air system and hydraulic motor assembly that can also power the car on its own.

Citroen says the result is fuel consumption of less than 3.0L/100km, but the air-assisted engine technology is likely to be too expensive to see production.

The latest Cactus concept revisits the same theme presented by Citroen six years ago at the Frankfurt show. At the time, potential customers indicated they liked the concept’s elegant, minimalist approach but were not prepared to forego the sort of comfort and equipment offered as standard today.

As for the name, which colloquially means ‘defunct’ in Australia, Citroen says Cactus was chosen as a production nameplate because of the car’s metaphorical similarities with the plant, which is efficiently designed, consumes minimal water/fuel and can protect itself.