Citroen has just unveiled its sleek Hypnos concept at the Paris motor show.
Using the company’s new HYmotion4 technology – a hybrid system that’s been co-developed with Peugeot – the Hypnos uses a 200bhp 2.0-litre diesel engine to drive the front wheels and an electric motor to drive the rear wheels, with a six-speed electronic gearbox system in between.
Insiders have revealed to Autocar that this new hybrid technology will be used in production cars by 2011. The hybrid diesel engine will boast impressive fuel economy and low emissions, offering “better mobility, consumption and respect of the environment,” according to Citroen’s Managing Director, Gilles Michel.
This show car’s colourful interior is a key part of its design, and offers a “new kind of luxury” according to Citroen’s British interior designer, Leighanne Earley.
“We wanted to offer each individual occupant their own space and functions” Earley explains. “Nobody has to share anything, whether it’s the air conditioning or the radio.”
That ethos and elements of the Hypnos interior will make it into Citroen’s production cars of the future – most notably the cabin’s mood lighting and upmarket materials
Otherwise the Citroen Hypnos is a design exercise born out of a competition between ten designers. However there are rumours on the show-floor that it could spawn a new crossover model, although there’s no official word that this will make production.
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