Third car in the C-Cubed programme, designed to allow Citroën to establish itself in Asia and South America, the one still known here under the codename CC22 could create a surprise by displaying a silhouette well in the air at the time and unknown to Citroën, a coupe SUV.
Citroën's first SUV coupé
If this latest vehicle in the C-Cubed programme was basically known as a three-box derivative of the Citroën C3 to provide a replacement for the C-Elysée, in reality it embraces another fashion in a segment that sells much more than notchback sedans and which should allow Citroën to score points in the regions where this vehicle will be sold.
Indeed, with the latest C3 Aircross, Citroën offers a compact SUV with up to 7 seats and a length of 4.30 m, but the latter is very bulky, necessary to accommodate all the passengers. The brand also seems to have found a solution by offering, alongside the C3 Aircross, a second compact SUV with just 5 seats, which has the appearance of a coupé SUV, allowing Citroën to enter a market segment that is growing strongly and tending towards democracy. The Stellantis group already offers a coupé SUV with the Fiat brand and the Fastback on the South American markets, while Volkswagen sells the Nivus, which corresponds to the Taigo in Europe and has the appearance of a coupé SUV. The future Citroën CC22, which would be no less than a C3 Aircross coupé, would fall between the Fiat and the Vw as it would be around 4.30m long, like the version to be launched in Brazil.
Thanks to our exclusive images, you can see what this future C3 Aircross coupé could look like, with a front end identical to the C3 Aircross, including the front doors. The difference will come from the rear doors, which will have a much more dynamic design than the C3 Aircross, with an arrow-shaped design that ends with a small black appendage where a colour note should be placed, perhaps a colour clip on the image of the latest European C3. It is at the rear, of course, that the differences appear, with a very sloping tailgate that should end in a small spoiler that surmounts the design lights, again very different from those of the C3 Aircross. They should therefore give pride of place to a black treatment identical to that of the 4th generation C3 recently presented in Europe, with two thin horizontal LED bars framing a third very thin bar to form the new visual signature of Citroën in a much more technical rendering and worked as the C3 Aircross lights in Brazil. The lights would also be connected by the black stripe with the chevrons engraved on it, which is part of the brand's stylistic gimmicks.
If this future C3 Aircross coupé is indeed marketed in Asia, with production in India and America, where it will be built on the lines of the Porto Real plant in Brazil, it is not certain that it will come to Europe, where it would compete with the C4, which does not need such close internal competition in terms of size. It should be unveiled in the first half of 2024, with a view to marketing it around the start of the next school year. With this new C3 Aircross coupé, Citroën will complete its C-Cubed programme with three locally designed and manufactured products, responding to consumer needs with competitive products that combine style and comfort. This future C3 Aircross would therefore officially be the first Citroën SUV coupé to benefit from a dual offer in the very important compact SUV segment, an intelligent offer that meets the needs of all consumers.