Looks like we are going to see a fair number of ugly concept cars at this year’s IAA Frankfurt Motor Show. There’s the Audi Urban thingy, VW NILS, and this, Citroen Tubik concept.
And like all the other concepts these days, the Tubik focuses on Eco-friendliness and Connectivity. Life’s getting more and more boring you know!
The Tubik is art of Citroen Multicity project, and is designed based on what sociologists call “affective groups” which argues that in near future people will travel together in small groups more. That, or something like it. So the Tubik is designed to be best car for that purpose.
The Tubik is a 9-seater vehicle, so it’s basically a van measuring at (2.08m wide, 2.05m tall, 4.80m long. But unlike your normal vans, it comes with a “a lounge-style cocoon dedicated to comfort and relaxation.”
he modular seats, designed to be arranged in many different ways (semi-reclined, face-to-face, etc.), and the onboard technology (including a giant, semi-circular screen, and high-definition spatialised sound) turn the cabin into an area for living and sharing.
Sure enough, such a futuristic car is also gets a futuristic drivetrain. It has the Hybrid4 technology, and four-wheel-drive. The front wheels being driven by the combustion engine and the rear wheels by the electric motor. The car also has 22-inch wheels equipped with tall, narrow tyres with very low rolling resistance.
The interior has a story of its own. Not sure about you but looking at all those shiny lights, even in the pictures, make me dizzy!
When you get behind the wheel of Citroen Tubik, you enter a high-tech world designed around the driving position. This area is dominated by what Citroen designers call the “cyclotron”, a system that groups – in one circular line – the seat, pedal assembly, steering wheel and circular head-up display The aluminium grey of the bodywork is also present on the cyclotron, to accentuate its robust, protective looks.
Installed in the black full-grain leather seat, the driver is identified by a system of fingerprint recognition. Around him/her, on the head-up display and the screen positioned in the centre of the steering wheel, is all the information required for navigation. To see what’s happening behind the vehicle, a screen shows the pictures from the reverse and rearview cameras.
