Photo: original image created by autoevolution
The European car market has been in free-fall for four years now, and while BMW or Audi can say “what crisis” all they want because luxury sales are still doing well and they have a strong global presence established, there are some makers that are limping, shadows of their former selves.
The French at PSA Peugeot Citroen have been particularly hard hit by the crisis, and with the Citroen brand only now being established in China, we really don’t know what their future holds. One car we’d desperately want to see put into production is this, the Numero 9 concept, which was supposed to preview another DS concept.
The concept was first show this year at the Beijing Motor Show in April, but this is our first chance to see the chic flagship in person. At 4.93 meters in length (194.1 inches) and 1.94 meters (76.4 inches) in width, it’s bigger in every way than a Mercedes E-Class, yet it feels svelte.
So why do we love this concept so much? Well, it’s because it’s a true flagship machine. The DS3 is quite likable, but its big brothers are riddled with faults. The DS4 is not that distinguishable from the C4, is crammed in the back and has windows that don’t roll down as well. Meanwhile, the DS5 looks great on paper, but when you start out with the chassis from a Peugeot 3008, it’s always going to be a bit of a mule.
But the Numero 9 is somehow better than any other Citroen, sitting above even the mighty C6 in terms of styling.
It looks like Citroen will continue to focus on hybrid tech with this one, and they promised the petrol version would have combined output of 300 hp from only a 1.6-liter THP and an electric motor. However, we’d only but it with a relaxed diesel V6.
The concept was first show this year at the Beijing Motor Show in April, but this is our first chance to see the chic flagship in person. At 4.93 meters in length (194.1 inches) and 1.94 meters (76.4 inches) in width, it’s bigger in every way than a Mercedes E-Class, yet it feels svelte.
So why do we love this concept so much? Well, it’s because it’s a true flagship machine. The DS3 is quite likable, but its big brothers are riddled with faults. The DS4 is not that distinguishable from the C4, is crammed in the back and has windows that don’t roll down as well. Meanwhile, the DS5 looks great on paper, but when you start out with the chassis from a Peugeot 3008, it’s always going to be a bit of a mule.
But the Numero 9 is somehow better than any other Citroen, sitting above even the mighty C6 in terms of styling.
It looks like Citroen will continue to focus on hybrid tech with this one, and they promised the petrol version would have combined output of 300 hp from only a 1.6-liter THP and an electric motor. However, we’d only but it with a relaxed diesel V6.
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