Citroën unveils radical Lacoste 21 | 09 | 2010

CITROEN WILL give visitors to the Paris Motor Show at the end of this month a hint of what the face of the next C1 city car will look like when it unveils its new concept, the Lacoste.

The new concept — which forms part of a tie-up with the French fashion house, whose badging appeared on special-edition Peugeot 205s during the 1980s — is a small buggy Citroën claims is “stylishly minimalist and elegantly laid back”.

With no proper roof or doors, the Lacoste is clearly not going to go into full production but at just under 3.5 metres long it's around the same length as today’s C1. It is though wider and taller, at 1.8 metres and 1.52 metres respectively, and does share a similar wheelbase. It's also powered by a three-cylinder petrol engine.

The Lacoste has a central bar running from the top of the windscreen to the top of the boot which also supports handles helping access to the rear seats. Amusingly, it also contains a bright yellow soft-top that automatically inflates in the rain ... perfect for driving in Scotland.

In a throwback to the old beachbuggies, the French newcomer's windscreen can also slide down out of sight, opening up the cabin entirely. But there's next to no bootspace; instead, the rear bench seat slides rearwards when required, freeing up room for luggage behind the front seats.

Don't laugh too much at the bright yellow creation. It’s likely elements of the front-end styling — including the integration of the lights into the bumper instead of the sheet metal — could make it onto the next version of Citroën’s smallest model, due at the end of next year.