Frankfurt motor show: Citroen C3

This is the new Citroen C3 supermini, which has been officially launched at the Frankfurt motor show and arrives in UK showrooms early next year.

The Citroen C3 supermini is a vital model for the company, and it will make its public debut at the Frankfurt show in September alongside the production version of Citroen’s DS premium supermini.

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Chas Hallett blog: New Citroen C3 - a supermini you''ll want to buy

Mark Lloyd, chief designer, said: "This is the first car I can think of where the redesign follows so much of the outgoing car.

"Usually we make a step change, but when we started the C3 project we realised we didn’t have to change much."

The booming B-segment now makes up a third of all new car sales in Europe and Citroen wants to grab well over 10 per cent of the market with this new car. The outgoing C3 has notched up sales of two million.

Citroen says that the new C3 ‘gets a sportier edge, with a tauter profile that gives the car a more dynamic, yet robust appearance’.

"To appeal more to men it has a better stance. The track is wider. But it’s still recognisable as a C3. The rounded shape has stayed. It still stands out in its segment," says Pierre Budar, project chief for the new C3. Buyers also get the option of the C3’s ‘Zenith’ windscreen, which runs over into the roof.

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The new C3 is designed to be a lot more fuel efficient than its predecessor, thanks to more efficient engines and modest aerodynamic gains (Cd 0.30).

Alongside today’s 1.4 HDI and 1.6HDi turbodiesel engines, Citroen will, from launch, be offering a C3 powered by a 90bhp HDi diesel which is good for just 99g/km CO2 – making it the first mainstream production Citroën to emit less than 100g/km.

In 2011 a new generation of engines will be launched, incorporating second-generation Stop-Start technology. Coupled with smaller capacity diesel engines, CO2 emissions should be driven down to just 90g/km CO2. These new diesel units will be followed by ‘new generation three-cylinder petrol engines emitting less than 100g/km CO2’ say Citroen.

Sources say the C3 will be getting the option of an automated manual 'box and conventional torque convertor autoboxes at a later date. Eventually – through the car’s lifecycle – there will be no C3 that emits more than 140 grams of CO2/km.

According to Vincent Besson, Citroen’s product boss, B-segment customers are changing. Cars like the new C3 are no longer thought of as a second car. "They need to be higher quality and have the option of more features but they also need to have lower fuel consumption." Interior quality is also claimed to be much improved.