19_19 puts emphasis on full-autonomous comfort
AT the other end of the Citroen concept scale is the large, dramaticlooking 19_19, which is designed for an entirely different sort of user.
While Citroen bosses are beginning to open up about plans to create something like AMI One, the 19_19 remains firmly in concept territory.
That’s not to say Citroen doesn’t have a vision for it; instead of offering cheap, urban transport, the aircraft-inspired 19_19 is intended to take people out of the city, as a long-range, autonomous lounge. Don’t expect anything like this to appear next to you on the motorway for 15 years at the very least.
For now, the experience of driving the concept is similar to its smaller sibling (left) and we had to be careful, given the lack of stopping power. We managed to get 28mph out of the 19_19 – although the concept’s fantasy specs stipulate a top speed of 124mph, 0-62mph in five seconds and an all-electric range of 497 miles.
With autonomous duties in mind, the design of the interior takes precedence over the outlandish, 30-inch-wheeled exterior. In the passenger seat for our ride this time is Citroen’s head of interior design, Jean-Arthur Madelaine, who explains that comfort is the ultimate message Citroen wants to convey with the 19_19, and why the two front seats are different. “Everyone has their own experience in the car,” Madelaine says. “It’s a bit like your living room at home. You don’t have six of the same seats; you have different ones for different experiences.”
Madelaine explains that there are elements he wants to bring to Citroens we’ll see shortly. “Like getting rid of all the complexity,” he says. “No dash, just kind of a wing. It’s super-simple.”