| Citroen Shows Coupé-Convertible | ||
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(Mon 20 Aug 07) Citroen will reveal a possible future coupé-convertible at the Frankfurt Show next month.
The C5 Airspace concept, surely one of the most elegant designs the company has produced in years, has an automatically folding carbonfibre roof complete with C6-style concave rear window, sunroof and textile lining. The Airspace also shows off new technology, most notably the UrbanHybrid system which includes a reversible alternator/starter and super capacitors. UrbanHybrid uses energy recovered during braking and coasting to power onboard equipment such as the radio and the air-conditioning. It also switches off the 2.7-litre HDi turbo diesel engine when the car comes to rest, switching it on again as soon as the throttle pedal is depressed. The combined effect, according to Citroen, is a 24g/km improvement in CO2 emissions. In addition, Citroen is using the Airspace to introduce its new Snow Motion traction control system, with which it hopes to achieve similar levels of traction to a four-wheel drive car in low-grip conditions. |
