New car news

02 March 2010 - 11:00

Geneva show: Citroen Survolt concept

What happens when the Citroen Revolte concept and the Citroen GT concept crack open a bottle of Merlot, crank up the Daft Punk and get down to a spot of Gallic grinding?

The Citroen Survolt happens, that's what. A wingy concept that melds Many Good Bits of recent Citroen concepts with a healthy dose of Lotus Exige, the Survolt is billed as an all-electric track car that could reach production in limited numbers - and run in a one-make race series. Here's hoping they get their battery technology nailed, or else that could be a mighty short race.

Citroen is staying sketchy on the details of the Survolt, but we do know that it's rear-wheel drive and powered by a 200kW electric motor. Energy comes from a bunch of batteries scattered throughout the car: in the nose, along the central ‘transmission' tunnel and in the rear. This means that car's centre of gravity stays low and that weight is evenly distributed - good news for handling.

We don't know how fast it'll be, but it'd be safe to assume performance on a par with the Tesla Roadster: the Survolt is slightly less powerful than the Elise-based Tesla, but - if it's shooting for the track-day special thing - should be quite a bit lighter.

Hopefully we'll find out soon, but for now, what do you think of the styling? Citroen's producing plenty of good-looking cars at the moment - just look at the DS3 - but is the Survolt's pinchy little nose just a step too far?