Citroen auto news

Official: Citroen turns utility into style with new C3 Picasso Code

Some may look at a utilitarian vehicle like the Citroën C3 Picasso and wonder why bother sprucing it up, but Citroën begs to differ. After launching the Blackcherry edition just over a year ago, the French automaker has returned with the new Code edition you see here.

Available in white, red, blue or grey, the C3 Picasso Code packs a host of visual enhancements that inject the little minivan with an added dose of style: things like white or red-trimmed 17-inch alloys, chrome insets on the bumper and door handles, glossy black bumpers and door mirrors and more. All that costs just £300 more (in the UK) over the base C3 Picasso equipped with the same fuel-efficient 90-horsepower diesel engine and manual transmission. Follow the jump for the full press release.

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Official: Citro"en C1 / Peugeot 107 twins refreshed

Citroën and Peugeot have released the first volley of information and images on their refreshed C1 and 107 runabouts. The Citroen C1 will bow with a new face, complete with a shorter hood, redesigned foglamp housings and new LED daytime running lights. The vehicle's rear valance has also received a few design touches to differentiate it from the previous year model. Buyers can expect to find the same 68-horsepower three-cylinder gasoline engine bolted to a manual transmission under the hood.

Not surprisingly, its mechanical twin, the Peugeot 107, has received a similar once over. Designers have graced the three-door with a reworked front fascia that features a new front bumper, foglight housings and LED daytime running lights, just like its Citroën cousin. Peugeot will also offer the 107 in three trim levels: Access, Active and Allure.

The Citroën C1 will be on display at the Brussels Motor Show starting on January 10, and it's probably fair to assume the Pug will make the scene there as well. Hit the jump for press releases on both of these small hatchbacks.

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Report: Citro"en going after Fiat 500 with new DS1 at Geneva

All too often the Fiat 500 gets lumped in with the Mini Cooper and Audi A1 in the premium hatchback game. But the Fiat is both cheaper and smaller. In reality the Fiat group's challenger for that class is the Alfa Romeo MiTo. As for Citroën, its DS3 is also bigger than the 500. So if the French automaker is going to go after Fiat's territory, it too will need something cheaper and smaller.

Enter the DS1. Since launching the DS line (pictured above) with the DS3, Citroën has focused on going bigger and more expensive, with vehicles like the DS4 and DS5. But rumor has it that, at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show in March, Citroën will debut a new entry to slot in below the current DS line.

Sources expect the new DS1 to measure less than 12 feet long and pack a choice of three-cylinder engines with less than 100 horsepower on tap, but that a performance version could offer closer to 130. We'll have to wait a few to find out one way or another, but the Fiat 500 (as popular as it's been overseas, but slow-selling on American shores) will have to sit up and take notice.

Official: Sebastien Loeb seals record eighth World Rally Championship despite off-track crash

You take the good with the bad. It's a motto that applies to any number of situations in life, and certainly does in motorsports. That's what Sebastien Loeb and his longtime co-pilot Daniel Elena found this weekend in Wales.

In the midst of a hard-fought battle with Jari-Matti Latvala in a Ford Fiesta RS, Loeb and Elena were on their way back to the paddock when they collided over a blind crest with another car. The Citroën DS3 WRC was damaged virtually beyond repair, but the position in which they retired was still good enough to clinch a record eighth drivers' title in World Rally Championship to join the manufacturers' title claimed for the team last month.

The Citroën mechanics managed to piece the car back together enough to pose for some photos, which you can see in the high-res image gallery. But even if it wasn't the ideal picture-perfect finish for the undisputed dominant force in rallying, it still didn't stop Loeb from celebrating his place as the most accomplished driver in all of motorsport.

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Report: Peugeot-Citro"en chopping 6,000 jobs in Europe

Automotive News reports that the French auto conglomerate is looking to cut fixed costs by 800 million euros ($1.1 billion USD) next year, and job cuts will be part of the plan. PSA will reportedly terminate 6,000 European jobs next year, with 1,000 cuts to manufacturing, 2,500 lost contractors and another 2,500 from sales, marketing, research and IT.

The auto market in Europe has suffered from a rise in pricing pressures. PSA felt the pinch with a 1.6 percent drop in automotive revenue during the quarter. Overall revenue actually increased by 3.5 percent due to PSA's majority ownership of parts maker Faurecia SA. PSA has changed its outlook for 2011 from "clearly positive" to something closer to break even.

Official: Citroen claims seventh WRC title on back of Loeb win in Spain

If there was ever any doubt, let it now be put to rest, as Citroën has claimed its seventh Manufacturers' Title - its fourth in a row - in the World Rally Championship.

The results were sealed when multiple champion Sebastien Loeb and his co-driver Daniel Elena won this past weekend's Rally of Spain. The victory ensured that the Citroën World Rally Team could not be caught by Ford, even though there is still one round to go before the 13-rally calendar draws to a close in Wales next month.

Although the Manufacturers' Title is all tied up, however, the Drivers' Title is still in contention. Loeb holds an eight-point lead over his nearest rival, Mikko Hirvonen. Sebastien Ogier in the other Citroën DS3 WRC was also in contention for the title until his car broke down with engine problems.

That leaves Loeb in the lead for his eighth consecutive world championship, but with Hirvonen not far behind in his Fiesta RS, nothing's for sure just yet. Details in the press release after the jump.

Continue reading Citroen claims seventh WRC title on back of Loeb win in Spain

Report: Citro"en working on neo Deux Cheveaux?

Citroën's next look into the future appears to involve a look into its past: according to Car Magazine, the French firm is planning a 3CV that will make a modern case for the beloved 2CV. It isn't expected until 2013, so only a few brains inside Citroën have any idea what it will look like, but the prognostications suggest "the spirit of the quirky Ami 6," lots of space and a comfortable ride.

Speaking of that ride, the company's CEO said "it's so relaxed that we may even cap top speed." That would be something special for a car to be built on the same PF1 platform that supports the Peugeot 207 and Citroëns DS3 and C3, yet will be smaller than the C3.

Report: Citroen to expand DS line with larger models for China, new DS3 Racing

Citroën has done a lot with the DS lineup over the past couple of years. From a long-dormant nameplate it has built a range of three models - DS3, DS4 and DS5 - but according to the latest reports, has no plans of slowing down any time soon.

Among the most interesting plans involve the DS3 Racing. The extroverted hot hatch, with its 200-horsepower turbo four and anything-but-subtle color scheme, was initially planned as a limited edition of 1,000 vehicles. Popular demand across Europe saw that increase more than twofold to around 2,400, but sources suggest that with even those almost all sold out, a new version could be in the works.

Demand in China - which is rapidly becoming the largest market for many automakers, Citroën included - for larger vehicles could also see the range expand with a bigger version of the DS5 and maybe even a flagship production version of the Metropolis concept pictured above.

Beyond that, we're told to expect - or at least for our overseas readers to expect - a wide range of new options and special editions in the years to come. Looks like we haven't seen the last of the DS line.

Video: Citroen DS3 Racing co-stars with Pixie Lott and Pusha T in latest music video

Whether or not you're a fan of pop music and hip-hop, car nuts sit up and take notice when their music videos feature some hot rides. We've seen everything from Kanye chopping up a Maybach to Danica driving Italian exotics in Monte Carlo. (Come to think of it, both those two are Jay-Z videos.) Now British pop star Pixie Lott and American rapper Pusha T have brought out a different kind of ride for their latest music video.

Part of an ongoing (and rather noticeable) product-placement campaign partnership between Pixie Lott and Citroën, the new single What Do You Take Me For? opens and closes with the DS3 Racing - the French automaker's anything-but-subtle 207-horsepower hot hatch. The track will feature on Pixie's upcoming album Young Foolish Happy, but the video's out now, and whether it's your kinda tune or not, you can check it out after the jump together with the press release. Just be warned, all of you working in puritanical office environments: there be booty shaking here.

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Official: Citro"en jacks it up with new C4 Aircross

Shortly after launching its new C4 hatchback, Citroën upsized it and took it upscale in the form of the DS4. For European buyers intrigued by crossover but not looking for the premium accoutrements, now there's the C4 Aircross.

Like the DS4, the C4 Aircross looks better suited to tackling a wet cobblestone street in Paris than a mountain pass through the French alps. Powertrain choices include a variety of gasoline and diesel engines, ranging from 110 horsepower up to 150, with front- or all-wheel drive. Those 18-inch wheels measure 18 inches and, like the rear lights, draw their inspiration from the Hypnos concept car, while LED running lights are integrated into the air apertures up front.

Five occupants will also be able to appreciate the panoramic glass sunroof when the model launches in Europe early next year, but you can get the details now in the press release after the jump and eyeball the image gallery for a closer look.

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