The final design of the Citroen C3, the French brand’s first made-in-India product, has been leaked online via images of its promotional scale model.
- Global debut of Citroen C3 imminent
- Will be made in India
- Expected to get a 1.2-litre petrol engine
2021 Citroen C3 scale model: what does it reveal?
While the new C3 has been spotted on road tests in India and abroad, the pictures of the car’s scale model confirm its final design, which continues to be quirky, yet stylish. Citroen designers have given the new C3 more of an SUV look, and while it does resemble the Hyundai Venue to some extent, there are quite a few typical Citroen design elements that make the C3 stand out.
Up front, the new C3 gets the typical wide grille, flanked by dual-layer headlamps that look sharper and quite similar to the recently unveiled all-new C5. The new C3 features an upright design, with a flat bonnet and an angular windshield placement, along with an almost flat roof that tapers slightly to the end. Along with adequate black cladding that runs throughout the SUV, the C3 gets a contrast orange roof, orange elements on the front bumper, blacked out pillars and roof rails, and dual-tone diamond-cut alloy wheels. There is a subtle dose of chrome too, especially up front on the grille and around the Citroen logo that connects the lights.
At the back, the new C3 gets a more upright tailgate, with rectangular tail-lamps on each end and a dual-tone bumper with black cladding; the simple looking rear tailgate has a large Citroen logo in the centre. Overall, the new C3 does look a lot like the larger and much expensive C5 Aircross SUV that’s on sale in India.
2021 Citroen C3: engine and powertrain details
The new Citroen C3 will be powered by a 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. There are also talks of a DCT-automatic gearbox for this model. As reported by us earlier, the new C3 will not come with a diesel engine. The C3’s 1.2 turbo-petrol engine and the sub-four-meter length will help it avail tax benefits and aggressively take on rival compact SUVs in the Indian market.
2021 Citroen C3: what else is known
While the new C3 will see an India launch later this year, the model is expected to have a global debut very soon. Also, as announced by Groupe PSA, the new C3, currently known as the C21 in India, will launch in our market this year. The C21 is the first model of a multi-model C-Cubed programme that was announced by the French brand earlier. This programme will cater to cars built for emerging markets like India and South America, to name a few.
As planned for C-Cubed cars, the new C3 (C21) will be underpinned by the new Common Modular Platform (CMP). This architecture is already in use by multiple Peugeot models overseas and will also underpin a made-in-India sub-four-meter Jeep product in the future.