There’s a new Citroen production model waiting in the wings for its official debut next month at the Shanghai motor show. The name is suspected to be the C5 Aircross, and when it does reach an unveil, should resemble the 2016 Aircross concept SUV.
A report by Autocar suggests that new model will resurrect the C5 badge that was discontinued last May, living its last days as a large family sedan, as a bold new crossover that borrows design cues from the C4 Cactus.
Citroen also rather recently brought out the C-xperience concept, a sleek coupe-like interpretation of a luxurious but sporty sedan, which was originally intended to gauge consumer interest in a similarly sized car to the defunct C5. Evidently, this path did not pan out and the French automaker chose instead to try their hand at the increasingly popular crossover space.
The forthcoming C5 Aircross expected to bear many of the visual flourishes that made last year’s Aircross concept, though appropriating them for mass production as needed. Despite its sporty looks, Citroen is set to equip the near-production prototype with comfort-oriented features such as active dampers and soft springs while still maintaining good body control.
The choice to unveil it in Shanghai is a telling one as there’s no doubt Citroen - as well as parent company PSA - is pushing strongly into the lucrative market and indeed the decision to produce an all-new C5 as a crossover is meant to play into China’s penchant for buying SUVs and crossovers.
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