Citroen “C-Sport Lounge”, Citroen, France

2008: Smaller. Safer. Better.

Full Size Vehicle on Display at Michelin Challenge Design™

Description:

Citroen’s C-SportLounge is a fresh interpretation of the grand touring car, in phase with new trends in automotive pleasure. The C-SportLounge concept car, which stands out with its evocative name and distinctive body style, features powerful, aerodynamic exterior lines and a cockpit-inspired interior designed for the pleasure of the driver and the well-being of the three passengers. The C-SportLounge combines dynamic character with high levels of onboard quality.

The noble styling of the C‑SportLounge’s bodywork is pleasing to the eye from the first glance. Pure, assertive lines perfectly reflect Citroën’s style codes. The original architecture successfully combines a powerful, sleekly muscled appearance with remarkable aerodynamics.

The concept car has a sleek silhouette with flowing lines, but also gives a sense of power with ultra-smooth flanks, rounded at the top, and yellow body paint, which emphasises the vehicle’s sleekly muscled looks.

The determined look of the front end is enhanced by the wide air intakes and clear-cut headlamps. The headlamps have swivelling beams, providing optimum lighting in bends. The large chrome chevrons on the smooth bonnet express the Marque’s signature. The large windscreen placed well to the front rises high and melds into the sunroof in a single unbroken line, offering a broad glass surface, enhancing visibility and letting in maximum light.

The profile of the C‑SportLounge reflects optimal aerodynamic design. The receding roof arch and attention to detail underscore the vehicle’s class and elegance. The flowing lines are highlighted by two chrome horizontal bars: one following the waist line and the other running along the bonnet up the top of the front quarter-light. The C‑SportLounge also expresses strength and power through generous volumes, stressed by well-defined wheel arches and 20-inch aluminium wheels.

The powerful design of the front and rear ends gives the vehicle a determined, powerful appearance. The concept car has boomerang-shaped LED headlamps and two chrome exhaust pipes.

Special attention has been paid to the aerodynamic, flowing lines – strong Citroën values. The drag coefficient is 0.26 and rear lift 0.02. In addition to styling and volume that enhance air penetration, various technological features contribute to that result:

• air ducts on both sides of the front bumper. They produce an air flow through the front wheel arches, creating a virtual fairing.
• an electro-mechanical system at the rear of the roof. It consists of micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMs), which create a virtual airfoil by propelling jets of air and substantially improve the vehicle’s drag and stability at high speeds.
• a reverse mobile airfoil, under the structure at the rear of the vehicle. This cylinder-activated reverse airfoil improves lift and enhances vehicle stability at high speeds. It has three positions:
• a “neutral” position, integrated with the rear styling, when the vehicle is stationary or in the city,
• a position adopted at a cruising speed of above 90 kph that optimises the drag coefficient and lift,
• a position activated during emergency braking to increase negative lift by adding support and stabilising the vehicle.

The luxurious interior of the C-SportLounge, designed to seat four adults comfortably, expresses the grand touring spirit of this concept car. The on-board ambience is a harmonious mix of noble, sturdy, extensively worked materials and high tech styling for the driving position, inspired by aviation design.

The design of the driving position was dictated by driving pleasure. The driver sits in an authentic cockpit between the central tunnel and the generously curved inner door. This impression is accentuated by the styling and location of the instrument panel: driver-dedicated navigation screens, start button on the roof, and aluminium knobs for the two-zone climate control system on the tunnel.

The semi-raised driving position offers the driver proper eye height for comfort and safety, as well as a “sports type” seating position for more driving pleasure. The driver’s seat and the central console are all of one piece, which keeps the automatic gearbox and climate-control system controls within reach, regardless of the horizontal seat adjustment setting.

The driver’s position has been designed to let the driver concentrate on the road, with a fixed-centred controls steering wheel and gear-changing paddles.

With rear-hinged doors at the rear, the C‑SportLounge offers unexpectedly generous access for a vehicle of this type. The doors open together with the central pillar to an angle of 87°.

Four independent seats, padded and upholstered in bronze-coloured leather, with integrated seat belts, envelop the driver and passengers, who travel in comfort, in an interior modelled on a fighter plane.

A central tunnel divides the space into individual areas. The pure glass sunroof, divided into four parts, highlights these individualised areas. Like the broad windscreen and long side windows, the sunroof maximises light and enhances the sensation of being open to the sky. Contributing to the refinement of the interior ambience, LED lighting concealed in the armrests diffuses filtered light.

The original architecture and dynamic, prestigious appearance of the C‑SportLounge clearly states its grand touring ambition.