Citroen C-Cactus goes back to the basics

Citroen’s ambitious C-Cactus concept for the IAA in Frankfurt combines the latest diesel-hybrid technology from PSA/Peugeot-Citroen with a basics-only vehicle. The goal: Deliver maximum fuel efficiency at a price equal to an entry level Citroen C4.

The challenge is big. Diesel engines and hybrid drivetrains each add 1,000 euros or more to the cost of a car. Automakers have cited that as a barrier to widespread use of diesel hybrids.

With the C-Cactus, Citroen engineers worked to offset that extra cost by taking the rest of the vehicle down to its basic elements.

The 420cm long four-door hatchback model does include air conditioning -- but that let engineers use windows that are fixed in place and eliminate the weight of window hardware.

Also gone is a traditional dashboard. The instruments and indicators are placed in the fixed hub of the steering wheel.

Overall, Citroen says the interior is made up of just more than 200 parts, about half the number of parts used on a conventional car of similar size.

But by reducing the number of parts, the C-Cactus weighs about 15 percent less and is easier to produce than a conventional car. Many of the concept’s parts and components are made from recyclable materials. The car’s steel doors are treated to prevent corrosion but are not painted.

The concept was created by Gilles Vidal, in the Citroen studio 2 of the PSA/Peugeot-Citroen design center in Vélizy, France.

Based on the lower-medium Citroen C4 platform and fitted with the PSA diesel-hybrid powertrain which goes on sale before 2010 in the Peugeot 308 model, the C-Cactus would deliver low CO2 emissions of 78grams per kilometer. The C-Cactus is not likely to reach production, but Citroen sources say it is a message that ecological aspects will be strategic in future product.