Archive
Thank you for rating this article
Virtually the sexiest car in the world?
2009-12-11 15:50
This year Citroën celebrates 90 years of innovation and on 19 - 22 November, thirty of their magnificent cars, from the 1925 Torpedo B12 to the GT Concept (inspired by a Playstation video game), took part in parades on the Côte d'Azur. both in Monte Carlo and along the Promenade des Anglais in Nice.
The GT Concept, with its manga-style lines and Lamborghini-like scissor-doors, was the undoubted star of the show, but the parades were also a nostalgic reminder of the good old days when everything was French, people smoked endless packs of Gitanes and of course, drove a 2CV, a DS or even a CX.
It all began in 1919 with André Citroën's innovative gear wheels wih the herringbone teeth which inspired the famous Citroën logo. The Citroën Type A was the first ever car with a starter, lights and a spare wheel - and Europe's first mass-production car. Other world firsts: the first diesel engine, designed to minimize pollution, a thoroughly modern idea. And these were followed by the stunning Traction Avant, the world's first front-wheel drive, launched 75 years ago.
Citroën has entered the motor sport history books with four Manufacturers’ titles and five Drivers’ titles for Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena in the World Rally Championship. The manufacturer has also won the Paris-Dakar five times.
Advertising has always been innovative. Citroën and the Eiffel Tower enjoyed a historic partnership for nearly ten years between 1925 and 1934, when André Citroën had the company's name displayed in lights on the iconic structure. A total of 250,000 light bulbs and 600 kilometres of electric cable were used to make the 30-metre high letters. The spectacle was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest advertising sign, and the illuminations were so bright that Charles Lindbergh used the tower as beacon when coming into land after his solo flight across the Atlantic.
To celebrate 90 years of Citroën and 120 years of the Eiffel Tower, the two joined forces last October, after 75 years, in a stunning 12-minute light show, one minute for each decade the 'Iron Lady' has stood proudly in the heart of Paris. Citroën streamed live footage of the event from webcams mounted in 10 new Citroën C3's positioned at key vantage points around the tower. The footage was broadcast at www.toureiffel.citroen.com. As well as taking advantage of the new C3's 'Zenith' windscreen, the webcam pictures were displayed in vertical 9:16 format, a revolution for internet video.
Photos © Jilly Bennett/Monte Carlo Daily Photo