A report out of China yesterday suggests that pre-production of Citroën’s C6 has begun.
CarNewsChina.com claims that pre-production of the new Citroën C6 has started in China at a factory of the Dongfeng-PSA joint venture. The new Citroën C6 is code named X81. It is to debut in semi concept form on the Beijing Auto Show in April and in production form sometime around September, with a launch on the Chinese car market scheduled for late Q4.
They go on to say that new Citroën C6 will be based on the PSA EMP2 platform. Power will come from 1.8 and 2.0 turbocharged engines, and a hybrid might be added to the lineup later. The C6 will be the first China-made Citroën equipped with the famous hydraulic active suspension. Design will be inspired by the 2010 Citroën Metropolis concept car that debuted in Shanghai on the Expo 2010.
Citroën Metropolis concept
The new C6 will also have a sister at the Citroën DS brand, most likely to be called DS9. The DS9 was previewed by the 2012 DS Numero 9 concept, which debuted on the Beijing Auto Show. The concept was ‘powered’ by a 295hp hybrid powertrain. The DS9 will be launched in the first quarter of 2017, manufactured by Changan-PSA, the joint venture that makes all the DS-branded cars in China.
DS Numero 9 concept
This is a leaked drawing of the roof of the new C6, showing a two-stage panoramic sunroof.
Ed Note: We wonder how accurate the report is because in June 2015 Peugeot CEO Carlos Tavares stated that there are now other suspension systems that can do just as well as hydropneumatics that cost a lot for not much benefit. (A position we strongly disagree with.) None of the current DS models use Citroën’s hydropneumatic suspension, and the DS5 is supplied with “preloaded linear valve” shocks made by Germany’s ZF Friedrichshafen.