World premiere for Citroën Aircross concept at Shanghai Motor Show

French carmaker Citroën is to have the world premiere of its new concept car – the Aircross – at the international motor show in Shanghai next week. The Shanghai show will also mark the start of sales for the Citroën C4 Picasso in China.

The Citroën Aircross concept car points the way to a new family of crossovers for the brand. It also demonstrates how the radical looks of the C4 Cactus will be adapted on every Citroën by 2020. The Aircross concept is expected to be the predecessor to a range of crossover SUVs, from the size of the Mini Countryman to a large seven-seat SUV.

The Aircross features styling cues from the C4 Cactus but with a more production-based aspect. The car features ‘alloy bumps’ made from honeycomb aluminium with a hard rubber surround on the lower parts of the doors. In addition, the car gets suicide doors with no B-pillar included in the design, rear passenger window accents, a floating roofline, large wheels and twin exhausts exiting from the rear air dams.

On the inside the concept features seating for four, a bespoke three-spoke steering, a digital instrument cluster, a rotary gear selector with an incorporated starter button, and trim bits made from brushed aluminium, Teflon and chrome.

The concept is powered by a plug-in hybrid drivetrain. An electric motor producing 95bhp and 20.46kgm is located on the rear axle and is combined with a front-mounted 1.6-litre petrol engine developing 218bhp and 28.06kgm of torque. The electric motor is fuelled by a lithium-ion battery pack that can be recharged in three and a half hours via a domestic socket. The car also claims an all-electric range of 31 miles/50 kilometres.

The car also features a boost function that draws a combined 313bhp from the electric motor and petrol engine when the driver accelerates heavily. The company claims that this allows the Aircross concept to accelerate from 0-100kph in 4.5 seconds.