Citroen has long been in the shadows of the Germans. This is partly because their cars have been horribly unreliable and partly because they just weren’t as good to drive. But the French automaker is going to try and change all of that with their new luxury machine, the DS9.
The DS9, which is based off of the Metropolis concept, is the company’s attempt to move up market and challenge the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 7-Series, Jaguar XJ, and the Audi A8.
Another reason for this new machine is that Citroen is planning on entering Asia with this vehicle, as it’s the first design carried out at the company’s Shanghai-based design team. It was first created in May of 2010 and Citroen hopes that it will show Chinese buyers that they can rival the higher-end products from the Germans.
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| 2012 Citroen DS9 |
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| 2012 Citroen DS9 |
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| 2012 Citroen DS9 |
The name Metropolis was created for a reason. It’s about the size of the Titanic. At 5.3 meters long and 2 meters wide, it’s longer than a long-wheelbase Mercedes S-Class and wider than a Maybach.
As you can easily notice, the design language is inspired by the Hypnos concept and was entirely developed by PSA Group’s Shanghai design studio. The DS9 blends stunning lines with smooth surfaces, which is most noticeable at the front where the sculpted wings and grille merge with the stunning bonnet. The headlights are slicked back like an Italian’s hair and they are very streamlined.
The rear of the DS9 takes the vehicles overall width and blends it with a stunning aerodynamic line. There is an active spoiler and something that all big Citroens need to have, a concave rear window. There are chrome touches on the side windows with quarter lights that appear to simply float in the air.
The interior has not yet been shown, but we can imagine it will take some design cues from the C6 and other Citroen products, just with a touch of elegance and luxury. There will likely be some sort of voice activated navigation and an entertainment system with some rear seat luxuries like massage seats, a DVD player, and other private jet sort of stuff.
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| 2012 Citroen DS9 |
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| 2012 Citroen DS9 |
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| 2012 Citroen DS9 |
The Metropolis is powered by a hybrid drive train that combines a 2.0-liter V6 engine with an output of 272bhp and 277lb ft and an electric motor that develops from 55bhp to 95bhp. The concept has a CO2 emission of just 70 g/km.
This combination will allow the car to run on electricity alone at lower speeds and on petrol alone when commuting. The vehicle will also run on both together when needed. Nothing revolutionary, but it’s worked for many companies so far, so why change it?
All that being said, PSA/Peugeot-Citroen has stated they will most likely ditch the hybrid in favor of a traditional engine range.
The motor will likely be connected to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.
It’s unknown if the DS9 will make it out of China or down to Australia. We’ll keep you posted.
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| 2012 Citroen DS9 |
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| 2012 Citroen DS9 |
As stated earlier, the competition for the DS9 will be the larger German sedans, the S-Class, 7-Series, XJ, and the A8. As far as comparing these five machines goes, it’s all a bit cloudy at this point, seeing as how we don’t have much information on the DS9.
Based on what we have, the DS9 is sure to be the most fuel-efficient, as it uses a hybrid motor, although the automaker has stated that they will likely use a regular motor, but it hasn’t been announced what that will be.
Exterior design is a matter of opinion, but we think the DS9 is stunning. We feel that it looks far more exotic than the S-Class, 7-Series, and the A8. As far as the XJ goes, we still think that it’s the most beautiful sedan on the market and until we see the DS9 in person, that feeling will remain.
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| 2012 Citroen DS9 |
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| 2012 Citroen DS9 |
