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Citroen Picasso five-seater
Our exclusive spy picture below - the best yet of the compact MPV - shows how the entry-level version will get a unique rear end.
While its stablemate features a near-vertical tailgate to maximise headroom in the third row of seats, the smaller version has a stylish sloping rear windscreen instead. Unique tail-light clusters and a kinked window line also set it apart from the larger model. With minimal overhangs at the rear, the smaller C4 Picasso has a sportier profile, although it will share engines with the seven-seater. That includes the maker's 143bhp 2.0-litre petrol units, as well as 110bhp and 138bhp versions of the frugal 2.0-litre HDi diesel. Smaller powerplants may join the line-up in the future.
The big C4 Picasso goes on sale in January, but families wanting the handsome five-seater will have to wait a bit longer, as it won't be in showrooms until mid-2007. Prices are expected to start at around £14,500, which leaves room for the existing Picasso to continue alongside the new duo as a budget alternative.
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Rumormill: GTbyCitroen could be built in limited numbers
So while it turns out that PSA is actually not looking to buy Honda's F1 team (that's why they call it the rumormill), the brand could have seriously sporting aspirations of a different sort. According to Jean-Pierre Ploué, PSA's chief designer, there might be a 20-edition run of the GTbyCitroen, the car Citroen created for Sony's GT5. The game car specs came in at 3,000 pounds and 782 horses, some of those powered by hydrogen. If a real car -- actually suggested to be a grand tourer by Citroen's press release -- were built, we hope they opt for a version of the Peugeot 908's diesel V12. For 700 hp and 800 ft-lbs, we'd have no problem driving a car that looks like a catfish up front and a platypus out back. No matter what they put in it, expect it to be tres chere if it ever gets built.Gallery: Paris 2008: GTbyCitroen Live
Gallery: GTbyCitroen
[Source: Cardisiac via Motor Authority]
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Rumormill: Peugeot/Citroen to buy Honda F1?
Back when Alain Prost ran an F1 team, after jettisoning engines supplied by Mugen-Honda, it was Peugeot that left Jordan to sign up with Prost. Things didn't go well, and Peugeot jumped ship three years later. But it's possible that Peugeot feels it has some unfinished business in F1. Rumor has it that among the folks snooping around Honda's F1 operations is PSA, the parent company of Peugeot/Citroen. Supposedly not as hurt by the downturn as its rivals, and with F1 cost cutting in extra strength mode, PSA thinks now is the time to buy Honda's operations, benefit from Honda's promised assistance, and go head-to-head with its French rival Renault. Were such a thing to pass, speculation is that Peugeot would put Sebastien Bourdais and Jenson Button in the cockpits.
[Source: F1-Live]
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Fiat and PSA Peugeot/Citroën to merge?
Two storied European nameplates might combine operations as rumors are flying that Fiat and PSA Peugeot/Citroën may find the road to future profits easier to travel together. The first rumblings of potential trouble at Fiat came when its CEO Sergio Marchionne suggested his company's future looked bleak without a major partner and that there was only room for six global automakers in his estimation. Now, according to Italian newspaper Milano Finanza, leaders of both Italy and France have discussed a possible tie-up between the two companies.
Both countries are said to be considering offering financial aid packages to their respective home-grown automakers, and a merger may be seen as another way of ensuring their future viability. Although the two automakers specialize in small cars and therefore have many overlapping products, the only joint-ventures currently shared between them are for commercial vehicles and MPVs. If the two Euro giants were to merge, the resulting company would roughly match the size of Nissan/Renault and Volkswagen.
[Source: Reuters]
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