Social networkers are winning all kinds of rides. Ford’s might give away an Explorer on Facebook and Citroën UK just launched a game called DS3 StreetSeekers that will be gift three of its new superminis. During each five-day round of the treasure hunt, go to the marque’s fan page and a little bit of snooping around the Google Street View map will yield a piece of a DS3. Every day there’s a new clue about where the another piece can be found, and when someone collects four pieces they get the clue about where to find the complete car. Track that one down, and you could win it.

There are three rounds to the competition and the first one ended last week. The second round runs from August 17-21, and the third from September 7-11. Happy hunting…

[Source:Autoblog]

French motorists sure do love them some cabriolets, but while Renault and Peugeot each offer an assortment of convertibles, Citroën has largely stayed out of the sun-worshiping game. Until now, that is, according to reports from across the Atlantic.

A drop-top version of the DS3 premium hatchback is said to be in the works, although details at this point are scarce. No word on what sort of mechanism – fabric or metal – will be employed, or which engines will carry over from the fixed-roof model, but sources state that the hot DS3 Racing version won’t go topless. The DS3 cabrio isn’t expected before 2012 at the earliest, at which point it will likely fetch a £2000 premium, or about €2500/$3000.

[Source:Autoblog]

You’d think a term like “all new” would be fairly absolute. But not when it comes to new cars. Take the new Citroën C4, for example. The French automaker calls it “all new”. But it’s still based on the platform of the outgoing model. That said, the sheetmetal is fresh, the dimensions have grown some and the hatch is packed with all manner of gizmos, solidifying the chevron brand’s place as a technological powerhouse.

What sort of tech are we talking about? How about adaptive headlights, lane departure and blind-spot warning systems, user-changeable backlighting in the cabin (along with ringtone-style chimes and alerts) and a new system called eTouch which monitors driving patterns and offers suggestions on how to improve fuel economy. Engine options will likely remain the same, with the addition of the new e-HDi hybrid diesel/electric drivetrain, and we’ll be looking for the new C4 to debut in Paris this Fall before sales begin overseas early next year.

The three-door model isn’t expected to continue into the new generation, leaving the five-door to go it alone against the likes of the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf. The DS4 is expected to be based on this model, but as a crossover it’ll be further differentiated than the narrow gap between the smaller C3 and DS3 hatchbacks. Details in the press release after the jump, with initial images in the gallery below.

THE NEW CITROËN C4: FIRST DETAILS REVEALED

Citroën has released first details of the brand new C4. Designed to exceed the highest expectations, the New Citroën C4 boasts a real positive energy - with exceptional levels of quality, style, interior space and occupant comfort, as well as responsive handling and impressive environmental credentials.

As with the New C5 in 2008 and New C3 earlier this year, the New Citroën C4 once again demonstrates the expertise of the brand in creating stylish and innovative vehicles with relevant technological advances.

With its sculpted lines and high quality finish, New C4 cuts a distinctive profile, striking an impression of strength, stability and balanced proportions. Defined and flowing surfaces, such as the purposeful front end and rear spoiler, hint at the model’s optimised aerodynamics. The tasteful addition of chrome detailing combines with the dynamic headlight styling and sculpted alloy wheels to give the new model a premium presence.

Promising precise control and accomplished handling, New C4’s driver focused cabin environment combines with impressive acoustic comfort and soundproofing to deliver a true impression of on-road confidence.

New C4 features compact exterior dimensions and generous internal volumes that make it spacious and thoroughly versatile. At just 4.33m long, 1.79m wide and 1.49m high, New C4 is just 5cm longer, 2cm wider and 3cm taller than the current model. The 408-litre boot is the biggest in its class, with practical square dimensions and a lower sill that makes loading even easier.

In addition to optimised accessibility and practicality, the New C4 offers a genuine feeling of well-being on-board
- with spacious, comfortable seating and impressive occupant headroom. Personal comfort in the New C4 can be tailored to suit individual requirements with users able to adjust the colour of the driver’s instrument display, select their own ‘polyphonic’ sound alerts, finely adjust the intensity of the air-conditioning and even immerse themselves in the rich surround-sound of the new audio system. Some models even come with a new massage function on the front seats.

Alongside existing range technologies, such as EGS (Electronic Gearbox System), hill start assist, automatic electric parking brake, Lane Departure Warning System and Xenon dual-function directional headlamps, New C4 will be available with convenient and useful new technologies - some of which are unique to the segment. These include a new blind-spot monitoring system, a cornering light function, cruise control and speed-limiter with road speed memory settings, and an innovative new service called eTouch.

As well as offering on-board emergency assistance, Citroën’s eTouch system enables drivers to monitor their driving patterns and fuel consumption, and receive advice on how to improve their fuel economy. The system also allows drivers to consult their vehicle’s technical status and monitor any necessary maintenance or servicing requirements.

Designed to be an environmentally respectful family car, New C4 uses the latest Citroën technology to reduce its environmental impact. New C4 will be available with Citroën’s new micro-hybrid e-HDi powertrains, which feature the latest generation Stop & Start system that helps deliver CO2 emissions as low as 109g/km at launch - and 99g/km on future models. Michelin Energy™ Saver tyres are also specified to help achieve these low emissions and to boost fuel economy. The control of the car’s overall weight - in spite of the increased dimensions and added equipment - has been achieved using new technologies, such as laser welding, in the model’s construction. The use of 15% ‘green’ materials - for example, re-cycled polyamide components - also enhances New C4’s environmental credentials.

The New C4 will be produced at the Mulhouse PSA Peugeot Citroën plant in France and will premiere at the Paris Motor Show in September.

[Source:Autoblog]

Ctroën is all about making the most of its recent concept car attention and form, and its DS High Rider concept, a three-door crossover, tiptoed in front of the cameras at the Geneva Motor Show last month, but the French company only showed us its outer parts. We are now worthy of a glimpse inside, created to follow the exterior design’s philosophy of “strength, dynamism and refinement” and add a dash of “sporting luxury.” None of this means we’ll actually see the High Rider in production, but the company is doing well enough with the hatch that we don’t think it impossible. In the meantime, have a look the inside and outside of it in the galleries of high-res photos below.

STEP INSIDE CITROËN’S DS HIGH RIDER

Citroën has revealed the interior of the DS High Rider concept - which was originally showcased at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. In line with the car’s distinctive exterior styling, DS High Rider’s cockpit exudes strength, dynamism and refinement, with the utmost care and precision applied to even the smallest details. The ergonomic design of the controls, the quality of the carefully selected materials and the prestigious atmosphere on board convey status, elegance and the promise of luxurious comfort.

With a clear contrast between DS High Rider’s large panoramic windscreen and its dark-shaded roof lining, the cabin is an exclusive environment with an emphasis on sporting luxury - also evidenced by the extensive application of leather and chrome detailing.

The instrument panel, seats and door panels are all finished in a quality, full-grain leather with clearly defined over-stitching and a ‘bracelet’ design on the seats. The DS initials are also subtly embossed into the leatherwork of the dashboard.

Completing the dynamic ambience of the interior, chrome detailing is used around the dials, steering wheel, air vents, gear stick and the arch that connects the instrument panel to the console. Chrome ‘DS’ inserts also feature, positioned just below the headrests on each of the front seats.

Mirroring the golden tone of the DS High Rider’s bodywork, the interior door panels are trimmed with a graduated grey to gold shading that required the careful application of specific varnishes to achieve the gilded, metallic look.

DS High Rider’s technology can be glimpsed in the controls mounted on the sculpted steering wheel, the colour screen in the centre console and the ‘Hybrid’ badge just below the gear stick - which asserts the model’s ecologically sensitive drivetrain.

[Source:Autoblog]

Few carmaking nations manage to straddle the extremes of the market quite like the French. At one end, we’ve got the Bugatti Veyron (yes, we know it’s owned by a German, but go with us for a minute here), and at the other, an array of diminutive budget hatchbacks. There’s little to bridge the gap, but that’s not because the country’s automakers aren’t trying. And here’s the latest.

Called the Metropolis, the latest Citroën is aptly named because it’s about the size of a city block. At 5.3 meters (17.4 feet) long and 2 meters (6.5 feet) wide, it’s longer than a long-wheelbase Mercedes S-Class and wider than a Maybach. And those are some freakin’ big cars.

Alright, so this is a limousine, then. What’s under the hood? Given that it’s coming from PSA – which has been shoehorning hybrid systems into its show cars for years now – you’re right to assume this is a hybrid as well. It’s got a 2.0-liter V6 under the hood mated to an electric motor that together can vary its combined output from 272 horsepower all the way up to 460, driving all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox.

So who’s this for? Well it’s not going to market just yet, but take notice that it’s set for debut at the Shanghai Expo next month, which crucially follows the Beijing Motor Show this week where BMW is unveiling its long-wheelbase 5 Series, Audi the new A8 L and Volkswagen its updated Phaeton. So fa,r we’ve only got these preliminary details and small batch of photos, but you can check ‘em out in the gallery below and we’ll update you when more becomes available. Thanks for the tip, VLM!

[Source:Autoblog]

PSA Peugeot Citroën have announced that it will spend €175 Million to tool up one of its engine plants to build a new turbocharged inline-three cylinder engine. The Douvrin engine plant will have a capacity of 320,000 powerplants per year starting in early in 2013. The 1.2-liter engines will join a normally aspirated version that debuts one year earlier.

While PSA is one of the world leaders in diesel engine technology, this new engine is a gasoline-fueled unit. The high-volume commitment to a downsized gasoline engine is a sign of the increasing difficulty of meeting both new carbon dioxide emissions standards and nitrogen oxide standards that are part of the Euro VI package.

While PSA has no current plans to sell either Peugeot or Citroën vehicles in the United States, we are likely to see some three cylinder units coming from other automakers in the next few years including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and possibly Ford with a rumored 1.2-liter Ecoboost.

PSA Peugeot Citroën to Invest €175 Million to Produce New 3-Cylinder Turbo Petrol Engine

Between now and 2013, PSA Peugeot Citroën plans to invest €175 million at its La Française de Mécanique plant in Douvrin, in the Pas-de-Calais department of northern France, to prepare for the production of a new 3-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine.
The investment follows on from the Group’s decision to extend its line-up of petrol engines with a turbocharged version of the 3-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine currently under development.

Series production is scheduled to start in early 2013, with an output of 320,000 units per year.

This new engine version is based on the 3-cylinder 1.2-litre naturally aspirated engine, which will be manufactured at the Group’s Trémery plant in eastern France starting in early 2012.

La Française de Mécanique currently builds petrol and diesel powerplants for Peugeot and Citroën Peugeot models, as well as the EP engine developed in partnership with the BMW Group.

With this investment, PSA Peugeot Citroën has confirmed its commitment to maintaining extensive engine production operations in France.

Both the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region and Pas-de-Calais departmental authorities are actively supporting the project, which will support industrial development and economic growth in France’s second-largest automotive region.

Commenting on the investment, Philippe Varin noted: “By producing this new engine at La Française de Mécanique, we will be able to leverage world-class manufacturing expertise. And with its state-of-the-art environmental technology, the new powerplant will enable PSA Peugeot Citroën to strengthen its leadership in low-carbon vehicles.”

Created in 1969, La Française de Mécanique is a 50-50 joint venture between PSA Peugeot Citroën and Renault, with 3,400 employees. It’s machining and assembly lines produce 6,200 engines per day. Output in 2009 totalled 1.3 million units, of which 942,000 were for PSA Peugeot Citroën.

[Source:Autoblog]

GQ, the UK’s leading monthly men’s magazine, certainly knows a thing or two about the fashionable gentleman. And judging by the GQbyCITROËN concept, the fashionable fellas know a few things about svelte car design, as well. The GQbyCITROËN concept is a collaboration between Dylan Jones, GQ’s editor, and Mark Lloyd, a British designer who is most recently credited for the new Citroën DS3. We must say, we’re very attracted to it. Makes sense, then, that GQ and Citroën are branding this concept as “the ultimate gentleman’s drive.”

The GQbyCITROËN rides on the values of the classic GT theme, and designer Lloyd thought a proper grand tourer was much more suited to the GQ style, saying:

For me, the car that has always represented the pinnacle of automotive excellence and refinement is the GT – the Grand Tourer. It is not the all-out sports car, rather it is something gentlemanly, it has performance and it is for traveling, not racing. We wanted to create something that, like GQ, was aspirational, but also retained the classic automotive ideals. We didn’t want a car for the mass market. We wanted a car for GQ.

The cabin, accessed by rear-hinged coach doors, features a futuristic yet stylish cabin, with detailing and upholstery selected by Patrick Grant, the creative director for E. Tautz, a men’s tailor found in the prestigious Savile Row in London.

Because the GQbyCITROËN is purely a concept car, mechanical details are slim, but Citroën says that the car is powered by both a plug-in hybrid system as well as a 1.6-liter inline-four with direct injection, which achieves a 0-60 time of just 4.5 seconds and has a top speed of 155 mph (electronically limited, of course). Seems a bit far-fetched, but no matter, because we doubt a production version will ever see the light of day.

The GQbyCITROËN makes its official debut in the April issue of GQ, released on March 4th. Pick up a copy on your local newsstand, or simply scroll through our attached gallery to see high-res shots of this sleek new concept.

GQBYCITROËN – DESIGNED BY CITROËN. TAILORED BY SAVILE ROW. MADE WITH GQ.

Citroën and GQ have revealed a unique and exciting automotive project – the GQbyCITROËN.

The GQbyCITROËN is a concept car born through a unique partnership between the UK’s market-leading quality men’s monthly and a team of Citroën designers, collaborating to create the ultimate gentleman’s drive. This is the first time a British magazine has collaborated with a car company in this way.

Responding to a brief by GQ’s editor, Dylan Jones, Citroën’s team, headed by British designer – and the man responsible for the new Citroën DS3 – Mark Lloyd, took a new look at the GT theme and integrated it with a typical Citroën design approach bringing GQbyCITROËN from design outline to concept reality.

GQbyCITROËN combines classically sophisticated features and contemporary styling with a sculpted front end, rounded rear, strong body contours and sleek concave rear windscreen – a signature Citroën design.

The car’s cabin is accessed by rear coach doors and reveals a spacious, comfortable and futuristic cabin. Completing the car’s bespoke styling, the interior detailing and upholstery selections were provided by Patrick Grant, the Creative Director of prestigious Savile Row tailors, E.Tautz, who commented: “Savile Row is all about balance and Tautz’s simple military inspired interior is the perfect counterpoint to the Gallic flair of the exterior.”

Dylan Jones commented: “I wanted something practical, something cool, and something idiosyncratic – i.e. something surprising that didn’t just look like a concept car. The GQ car needed to have the ‘want’ factor, but it also needed to look, feel and ‘drive’ like the sort of car no sane man could choose to ignore. We think it looks very very special.”

Dynamic performance and environmental responsibility were also key requirements for the project. The GQbyCITROËN concept car is powered by a plug-in Hybrid with a 1,598cc, 4-cylinder direct injection petrol engine offering a sporty 0-60mph time of just 4.5seconds, an electronically limited top speed of 155mph and CO2 emissions of just 80g/km.

Mark Lloyd, Chief Designer of Citroën’s International Projects added: “Where this car works so well with GQ is that it fits with the current attitudes of conspicuous consumption. It is understated rather than in-your-face and sleek rather than too macho. With the skills of a Savile Row tailor on the car’s interior we have also achieved that bespoke, fitted feel, both inside and out.

“For me, the car that has always represented the pinnacle of automotive excellence and refinement is the GT – the Grand Tourer. It is not the all-out sports car, rather it is something gentlemanly, it has performance and it is for travelling, not racing. We wanted to create something that, like GQ, was aspirational, but also retained the classic automotive ideals. We didn’t want a car for the mass market. We wanted a car for GQ.’”

The GQbyCITROËN is featured in the April issue of GQ out March 4th 2010. For more information visit: www.gqbycitroen.co.uk.

[Source:Autoblog]

Of all the automakers in the world – and by the world, we mean the world outside the United States – Citroen’s design arguably runs the gamut more than any other’s. On the one hand, you’ve got cheap, compact and quirky hatchbacks like the comically named Revolte concept revealed in Frankfurt half a year back. On the other, you’ve got the GTbyCitroen, an extreme exotic supercar concept, now slated for limited production. In between lies a gorge as big as, well, France itself. But the chevron-emblazoned automaker has bridged the divide this year in Geneva with an intriguing concept called the Survolt.

Not digging the Revolte/GT comparo? Think Bugatti Veyron meets Chevy Volt, circa “Hackers”. Beneath the compact sportscar shape, splattered with more neon graphics than “Tron”, lies an all-electric powertrain. Citroen’s provided little in the way of details regarding the propulsion, but you can read more esoteric prose about the design in the press release after the jump. Better yet, check it out for yourself in the gallery of live shots from the Geneva show floor below, and the studio shots in the gallery below that.

SURVOLT: GLAMOROUS, FREE-SPIRITED AND HIGHLY-CHARGED!

Survolt is the continuation of CITROËN’S exploration of distinctive and original electric vehicles, initiated with the Revolte concept car revealed at last year’s Frankfurt Motor Show. Survolt turns received notions on their heads through its radically new vision in a consummate blend of high-fashion glamour and extravagance with motor-racing punch.

The desire to overcome one’s limits, take things further, dare and create is written in CITROËN’S DNA. Breaking with convention, shaking up the rules, shifting borders and surprising continuously is the passionate quest and leitmotiv of a brand that over its 90-year history has never ceased to develop innovative objects ahead of their time. Survolt is one of these. It takes the genetic material of Revolte and adds an extroverted sports dimension to the mix.

Like a luxury accessory that transcends an outfit, Survolt is CITROËN’S answer to an automotive universe that all too often seems morose. Survolt casts aside protocol and transgresses existing codes to initiate a new kind of stylish, sporty and elegant supermini. Bucking current trends and pointing to the future of sleek coupés, it unites elegance, glamour and sporting passion, sublimating this last quality with its electric drivetrain.

Innovative and sensual

With its compact dimensions – 3.85 m long, 1.87 m wide and 1.20 m high – Survolt reappropriates sports car styling cues to form an all-new and revolutionary concept.

At the front, the distinctive vehicle badge reigns elegantly above the large oval-shaped grille, its centre home to the striking double chevron. The car’s “look” – charming and profound at the same time – attracts and holds the viewer’s gaze with a promise of transgressions suddenly made possible. Its slim, horizontal head lamps, inspired by high-performance sports coupés, exert a magnetic appeal, while an LED light signature adds a contemporary, high-tech touch.

Survolt was made to gobble up the miles and glide over roads. Low-slung and sleek, it features strong contrasts between the voluptuous bonnet and generous, sculpted flanks, highlighted by emphatic wheel arches that promise performance and thrills.

Survolt’s air-slicing, flowing design is heavy on excitement and sensuality. It conveys agility, precision and vitality, barely containing a powerful, well-defined musculature under refined and luxurious wraps. The rear features the elegant light signature of Revolte together with a spoiler in an essential reference to motor sport.

Survolt is innovative and powerful but also knows how to turn on the charm, revealing its finest assets to catwalk in motor sports arenas. It features two-tone paint, hues of fuchsia and charcoal grey, and plays with materials and volumes. The curves shift from satin-smooth to shiny, breaking definitively with the classic masculine codes of the sports world. Survolt continues the work begun with Revolte by once again blending two universes with contrasting appearances. Survolt eschews decorum to create its own styling language.

The inclusion of materials such as chrome and aluminium inevitably recall the spheres of luxury goods and motor sport. Survolt is a perfect combination between high fashion and car racing, a unique alliance with the same philosophy and the same cues as Revolte, namely performance, cutting-edge technology and excellence.

Elegantly sporty

Survolt’s cockpit is designed like a floating cell, a glass setting held between chrome-finished roll bars like some magnificent piece of jewellery. The leitmotiv with Survolt is to transgress the conventions of the luxury world and combine them elegantly with those of the sporting world.

The cabin was imagined as a cross between two worlds that by their essence are opposed. This union begets an organic universe, both flowing and technical, from which the driver’s station springs forth. The interior as a whole was designed to bring the two occupants comfort and refinement, triggering singular pleasure and an outstanding experience.

The car’s generous glazed area brings light and a sensation of space, light years from that offered by today’s sports cars.

Transcendent power and excitement

Ahead of its time, Survolt captivates with its innovative, environment-friendly technology. Like Revolte, Survolt is powered by electricity, thus combining sports performance with environmental respect and sustainable development. Still particularly rare in the racing world, this technological solution also embodies a previously unthinkable alliance. But CITROËN dares and creates, transgressing conventions to better sublimate them. With irreproachable ecological credentials, the drivetrain blends driving pleasure, thrills, performance and vitality, and all in extreme comfort, since the car is silent in operation.

CITROËN is proposing a new automotive vision with Survolt, in a move that is entirely consistent with its 90-year history as an innovative brand focused on creativity and technology.

[Source:Autoblog]

Think of a road-ready rally machine, and what pops into your head? Likely the Subaru Impreza WRX STI or Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, right? Well Subaru hasn’t won the World Rally Championship in seven years, Mitsubishi in eleven. In fact, neither is even trying anymore: Both have withdrawn from the championship. No, that territory is Citroen’s to claim. The French automaker (with its star driver Sebastien Loeb) have been the reigning champs since 2004, but Citroen hasn’t really capitalized on its gravel-drifting prowess with anything even approaching what of the WRX and Evo. Until now.

Although the current C4 Loeb has won the past three world rally championships in remains in active duty for another season – with former F1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen taking the wheel in the junior team – after that the new rally-spec DS3 (previewed in a batch of spy shots a few months ago) will take its place. From the looks of things, however, Citroen isn’t waiting around for the DS3 to match the C4’s dominance before they roll out the street version.

Following an earlier report last month hinting at the hot DS3’s arrival, a handful of photos showing what insiders suggest is the finished product have leaked onto the interwebs. Brought to us by our compadres over at Autoblog Spanish, these shots were recently confirmed as the real deal (and not as photochops as originally suspected) when the same car showed up in other images released (and since retracted) by the factory.

The car pictured features wider wheel flarings housing bigger hoops and riding on a dropped suspension. Sources peg it at 15 millimeters stouter than stock, with NAFTA four-pot brakes front and rear. Under the hood, the 1.6-liter turbo four is tipped to produce between 200 and 210 horsepower, driving through a six-speed manual (the jury’s still out on the presence of a limited-slip differential) and likely to the front wheels to propel the DS3 Racing to 62 mph in 6.8 seconds. The Halloween livery may be a love-it-or-hate-it affair, but this is likely what we’ll see, if the reports prove accurate at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show. For our part, we’ll take ours in deep blue, with a big red leaping bull on the side and our names printed above the doors.

[Source:Autoblog]

The massive Toyota sticking-accelerator pedal recall has spread from the United States to Europe and even beyond Toyota-branded vehicles. Approximately 90,000 Peugeot 107 and Citroën C1 minicars have been added to the list of afflicted models. PSA, the parent of Peugeot and Citroën, has a joint venture with Toyota in the Czech Republic that produces the 107, C1 and the related Toyota Aygo.

The minis share the same electronic pedal assembly design used in the 2.3 million Toyotas being recalled in North America, as well a 1.8 million vehicles in Europe. In addition to the Aygo, Toyota has identified the iQ, Yaris, Auris, Corolla, Verso, Avensis and Rav4 in Europe. In total Toyota is recalling 7.5 million vehicles worldwide.

We don’t know for sure but it seems unlikely with this many vehicles involved around the world that CTS is the sole supplier of these parts. If CTS is not the only supplier then it appears likely that the issue is more of a design problem than a manufacturing issue at one plant or supplier. It is also possible that it could be a software issue unrelated to the hardware itself.

Update: We checked with Toyota spokesman Curt McAllister who confirmed that Denso is the other major supplier of this pedal assembly.

[Source:Autoblog]