Citroën’s New C5 Aircross was just revealed last week. Based on parent company Stellantis’ new STLA Medium architecture — like the Peugeot 3008 and Vauxhall Grandland — this second-generation C5 Aircross is the top model of an overhauled Citroën model range, above recently refreshed and renewed versions of the Ami, C3, and C4.
Citroën is well known in France for its avant-garde design. What a pleasure to see designers taking risks and being daring with exterior and lamp design! In my DVN article about main takeaways at the DVN Paris autoshow, I mentioned sculptural shape design as a trend, and mentioned the Citroën concept car. Usually, the real car is far from the concept (and far more conventional). When engineers apply all the technical constraints, and accountants impose the cost constraints, a great design often fades. But not at Citroën with the new C5 Aircross. They faced the challenges, solved aerodynamic challenges, met UN R26 (external projections), and passed severe brush and abrasions testing and possible pull-up testing, all without dulling or muting the fantastic design.
The engineer’s job is to make a concept into a reality. I really like it when engineers triumph to bring designers’ visions into reality. Great job to Citroën’s R&D, lighting, and design teams!
