Citroen has revealed it intends to produce an all-new flagship model in 2020, designed to celebrate 65 years since the introduction of the iconic original Citroen DS model.
We can’t publish the renders yet because they’re heavily embargoed, but suffice to say the production version of the recent Numero 9 concept car is jaw-droppingly lovely to look at.
Sitting somewhere between a futurist’s take on the original DS and a longer, lower DS 7 Crossback, the DS 8 Fastback is designed to sit atop the pile over at Citroen’s luxury offshoot (an offshoot which has only really had limited success outside Europe), and will rival the likes of BMW’s far more conventional 5-Series sedan.
The DS 8 won’t be a three-boxer though — in keeping with the classic model it pays homage to, it will be an aerodynamicist’s dream car, with a long, low, wide body that errs on the side of wagon more than liftback.
Underneath the bonnet, there will be the now-essential mix of conventional internal combustion and electric power.
Citroen states the car will be available (in Europe at least) with a 1.6-litre PureTech petrol or 2.0-litre BlueHDI turbo diesel engine, and also as a plug-in hybrid.
No, the DS 8 isn’t destined to sell in huge numbers, but as far as cachet goes, it’s already a winner for us, based simply on the minimal 2D renders we’ve seen.
And more than the still-gorgeous DS models of the 1950s and 60s it is inspired by, it also reminds us of two other range-toppers from Citroen’s past; both flawed, both scarce in our part of the world, but both elegantly bonkers in the best possible way — the Citroen CX and the Citroen C6. Magnifique.
Mitsubishi’s Lancer reborn as ... a hybrid crossover?
What’s in a name? Oh, plenty if you’re Mitsubishi ... plenty of ever-so-slight variations on the same thing, anyway.
The Lancer nameplate has been doing service for the Japanese brand for decades. From the highs of rally-bred Lancer Evolution sports glory to the lows of your average base-spec “see me out” car — as seen badly parked in shopping mall car parks at 10am — the perennial Lancer has been hatchback, sedan and wagon for its parent company. And now, perhaps, a compact crossover SUV.
The carmaker’s commander-in-chief, Trevor Mann, says the Lancer nameplate has life left in it yet. Which feels slightly ironic given most of the buyers of the current car.
Every car brand wants to appeal to younger buyers though, so the idea of Mitsubishi wishing to add some “yoof” appeal to its oldest nameplate is hardly surprising.
Anyone with an enthusiastic attitude to performance cars would suggest an update to the now-dead Lancer Evolution lineage would be the answer.
Sorry, that isn’t to be. For now, mainstream success looks likely to continue to be measured by how many daring and trendy creases and slashes can be incorporated into a hatchback-on-stilts silhouette. And that’s what the next “evolution” of the Lancer looks set to appear as.
Whatever will they make of it down at the bowling club?
Lister wants to build world’s fastest SUV
British tuner Lister, has released a teaser shot of a new model it says will be the world’s fastest SUV. Because, thanks to the likes of Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo and Bentley, thumping one’s chest and proclaiming a “fastest SUV” is now a thing.
The company is keeping details secret for now, but we know the tuner will use Jaguar’s supercharged V8 F-Pace SVR as a base for its (stifle giggle) track-focused SUV.
The potential power available from such a beast is nothing to snigger at, however. The F-Pace SVR already produces a thoroughly indecent 405kW and 680Nm of torque.
So, some further fiddling by Lister could yield a truly potent people-carrier. Lister managed to wring a colossal 496kW out of another Jag-themed model recently; the Lister Thunder, which was built around the Jaguar F-Type R.
That car received new intercoolers, air filters and a performance exhaust system to help eke out the extra kilowatts.
And before you scoff at such extravagance under the engine bay, Lister claims it received 22 deposits for the Thunder in under 24 hours.
With SUVs firmly the be-all-and-end-all for the auto industry these days, a highly potent rocket built by some blokes in a shed could still carry weight. And that antique side table you bought from a seller online, too.