Frankfurt 2015: Citroën Cactus M concept is serious fun
It's easy to dismiss the Citroën Cactus M concept as merely a C4 Cactus with its roof removed and some lairy colour and materials applied. However to do this would be to dismiss the effort that has gone into its creation.
While it may look wholly familiar, only the lamps, hood, bumpers, dashboard and seat frames are shared with the production car. The rest has been remodelled in a variety of subtle and not-so-subtle ways.
"It was an opportunity for us to continue to bring some more attention to the Cactus, but also to try some new things," says design director Alexandre Malval. "You can see in the fenders we have added a little more muscle to emphasise its ruggedness, while the colour and trim is something we could never have tried unless it had this surfing theme. I hope it's a nice contrast to all the new German cars."
Perhaps the car's most impressive element is the effect of a single-piece 'hull' that's so reminiscent of the Mehari's. The very product-like, plastic aesthetic perfectly communicates its hose-down simplicity. The continuation of colour, material and surface from exterior to interior is refreshing.
The car also has a number of references to Citroën's past: from its tall-but-narrow tyres to its single windscreen wiper, there's far more depth to this than perhaps we imagined.
Another car this references is the 2010 Lacoste concept, with a reworking of that car's step to enter the rear seats (now neatly integrated into the bodyside) and its bodyside and its inflatable roof system for when the Riviera weather breaks. There's another link between these cars – lead exterior designer Frédéric Duvenier is married to Lacoste designer Celine Venet. "Yeah, it's a family thing!" he says.