The DS High Rider is not so much a concept as a pre-production preview of the new DS4 model that will provide a B-segment SUV competitor to the new Nissan Juke and Mini Countryman when launched as a production model next year. Unlike those rivals, the Citroen concept proposes a three-door coup� bodystyle - with obvious links to the sporty DS3 model - yet will be based on the new C4 underpinnings, offering future hybrid and 4x4 drivetrains to support its crossover aspirations.
As on the new DS3, there's a lot of 'bling' with the DS High Rider, not all of it in the best taste, according to comments heard from other designers. The tall bodysides are relieved by crease lines that define the upper limits of the front and rear wheelarches and there's a neat detail where the lower door feature line kicks up into the door protector, to provide some additional surface entertainment. The golden paintwork and brushed chrome trim are set off by a fabric covered roof and a neat pleat coincides with the rear spoiler and cheats the eye into reading the roof as a full fabric top, a treatment used previously on the C5 Airscape concept in 2007.
At first glance, the front end and grille appear very similar to the DS3 but we noted a number of differences, including a longer front overhang with a clamshell-style hood that reaches to the top of the grille, slimmer headlamps and shallower boomerang side blades on the bumper cheeks. The design of the 19-inch wheels includes an interesting detail where the reverse side of the alternate spokes appear to be peeled back to reveal a carbon fiber texture.
Just as on last year's stand, the DS High Rider concept was hidden away in a dark recess, which made viewing and photographing the car difficult. One possible explanation was the lack of any visible interior, the model simply having heavily tinted windows. Seems we'll have to wait until Paris before we get the full picture.
No comments:
Post a Comment