Citroen C1 (2014) first official pictures

By Damion Smy

First Official Pictures

24 February 2014 10:00

This is the Citroen C1 that will be shown at the 2014 Geneva motor show. It’s an all-new version of Citroen’s supermini, and is built on the same platform as the recently revealed Peugeot 108 and forthcoming Toyota Aygo.

The new C1 is slightly longer than its predecessor (4.40m plays the new car’s 4.64), but is slightly narrower and sits at 1.45m tall, 15cm lower. You can see the wheels pushed to each corner with little overhang, and while the 108 is offered in two-tone colour combinations, the Citroen has black A-pillars to give it a wraparound look.

The nose crams the twin-light motif of the C4 Picasso and C4 Cactus onto a tiny city car face. It's certainly distinctive, but will it push buyers toward the smarter, more conservative Pug 108?

At the rear, it’s blacked out below the windscreen, like the old model, but it’s a larger, more integrated area. The black in the lower bumpers is gone, too, with an integrated exhaust outlet for a smoother look.

Three- and five-door models will be offered, like before, but there’s also a new open-top version that Citroen call ‘Airspace’. The soft-top, which measures 800 by 760mm, is offered in red, black or grey, continuing the two-tone design theme on hardtop version of the C1. The roof layers back toward the rear hatch in the same vein as the DS3’s late-in-life addition of an open top.

No pics yet from Citroen – so it’s either really good or woefully bad… What Citroen will confirm is that there’s a new seven-inch touchscreen with ‘mirror’ capability, which means you can copy smartphone content onto the display, including sat-nav, music – just like in the Pug 108.

There’s a 196-litre boot and 750-litres once the seats are folded flat. That’s less the VW up/Skoda Citigo/Seat Mii triplets, and one-litre less than the old car’s 751 litres. Citroen (nor Peugeot or Toyota) hasn’t revealed the wheelbase, but headroom and legroom may’ve increased marginally.

Three have been confirmed so far: a pair of petrol engines, and a diesel. The new 1.2-litre three-pot ‘PureTech’ engine making 82bhp is the biggest news, eclipsing the current range’s 68bhp versions. Citroen claims 65.0mpg and 99g/km of CO2 – no better than the current C1, but at least you get more kick for the cash with an 11.0sec 0-62mph time. Is this the only car where 11.0sec is an improvement? The old C1’s best was 12.3sec…

There’s also the VTi 68 ‘Airdream’ of the current car, with either a five-speed manual or the ETG (that’s Efficient Tronic Gearbox). Citroen have also confirmed a starting weight of 840kg – that’s 60kg less than the old car’s claimed weight – and along with new electric power steering, there’s thicker anti-roll bars and a lighter front axle.

Citroen's keeping quiet on official numbers, but says the UK will get its first new C1s later in 2014. We're expecting pricing to follow the new Peugeot 108's lead, with a starting price of less than £8500.

By Damion Smy