Citroen C3 Sporty will likely arrive as a heavily localised compact SUV; an electric variant capable of up to 330 km range is also in the works
Groupe PSA will be debuting the Citroen brand in India early next year with the C5 Aircross premium SUV. But, its main volume assault will come in the form of a heavily localised model internally codenamed C21. The compact SUV segment has grown leaps and bounds in the last three years and Citroen will be looking to make a strong impact with what could be christened the ‘C3 Sporty’ reportedly.
Recently, Citroen revealed the C4 crossover and C4 Electric for the European markets. The French manufacturer is said to be working on a trio of models for India and the C3 Sporty will be one of them. It will be positioned in the sub-four-metre SUV space and underpinned by the modular CMP architecture. The C3 Sporty has been imagined in this rendering.
Citroen has never been too impressive with the names but whether the C3 Sporty will be used or not is still debatable. The exterior will adapt the similar eccentric styling you could see in the global range of Citroen with a triple-tone theme, headlamps positioned lower down, signature double Chevron, absence of lenses on the upper portion with the entire LED beam of lights in a single pod on either side, blackened A-, B- and C-pillars, raked windshield, black roof rails, sporty alloy wheels, aggressive cuts and creases, etc.
Other visual highlights include recessed door handles, unique air bumps, black side cladding, fender creases, tail lamps likely similar to the headlamp design with tapered LED lenses, a bold bumper and so on. It will likely be manufactured for emerging markets like India as well as Brazil, and don’t be surprised if this happens, as Citroen wants to expand its wings beyond Europe.
As for the performance, the Citroen C3 Sporty is expected to use a 1.2-litre three-cylinder Puretech petrol engine, which is good enough to produce a maximum power output of 116 horsepower. It will be mated to a six-speed automatic transmission reportedly but the probability of a six-speed manual gearbox should also be high. Both the engine and transmission could be rolled out the Hosur plant.
If required, the Citroen C3 Sporty could be exported to right-hand-drive markets as well. The report went on to say that there will be an electric variant using 50 kWh battery pack. It will develop 136 horsepower and have a claimed driving range of around 330 km on a single charge.
By the looks of things, it could act as an ideal contender to the Tata Nexon EV and the upcoming Mahindra eXUV300. The lower variants of the Citroen C3 Sporty Electric could use a 37 kWh battery pack, capable of 230 km on a single charge.