the cutest car at this week's frankfurt motor show could save the planet, writes joshua dowling.
thrifty design ... citroen's c-cactus is powered by a 1.4-litre diesel engine backed up by an electric motor.
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2007 citroen c-cactus concept
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french car maker citroen has unveiled a hybrid car that would cost no more than a conventional hatchback. despite its futuristic styling, the citroen c-cactus (so named because of its low consumption, as with a cactus plant) is a pointer to future technology and the design of the next-generation c3 small hatch.
this is the third diesel-hybrid show car from citroen in less than two years and the maker this week vowed it would have hybrid power on every model in its range by 2012 from as little as $20,000.
the previous two diesel-hybrid concepts from citroen were a five-door hatch and a large, v6-powered sedan. the c-cactus uses citroen's diesel-hybrid technology in the smallest cars on the market, the so-called "light" cars. these are similar in size to a toyota yaris. until now, hybrid technology was thought to be too expensive on such vehicles.
a hybrid drivetrain and battery pack is said to be 30 to 40 per cent dearer than a conventional petrol engine. that's why a hybrid version of a honda civic costs $30,000, instead of $21,000 for a regular model.
so how has citroen done it? by completely rethinking how it builds small cars. the maker says it has found ways to cut more than 200 components from a car.
the dashboard is one part and all the controls are located in one spot. the ignition key, another example of citroen's thriftiness, doubles as an mp3 player.
"citroen wants its hybrid cars to be in the same price bracket as conventional cars," edward rowe, spokesman for citroen cars in australia, told drive at this week's frankfurt motor show. "hybrid drivetrains are expensive and there's no escaping the cost, so citroen looked at how it could reduce the cost of the rest of the car.
"it's all very well building the greenest car in the world but if no one buys it, the whole exercise has been pointless. so we've got to make a car that is priced and equipped correctly."
the c-cactus concept car is powered by a 1.4-litre diesel engine backed up by an electric motor. it sips fuel at a little more than half the rate of a toyota prius hybrid (2.9 litres/100 kilometres) and citroen says it emits just 78 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre (a fraction of the emissions of a regular car and well below the european union's proposed 2012 target of 130g/km).
http://www.drive.com.au/editorial/artic ... leid=43490
