Not since the days of Ettore Bugatti has France been known for its output of luxury cars. There is a certain je ne sais quoi in French automotive design that tends toward the obscure and even obtuse. Of France’s three car makers: Citroën, Peugeot, Renault (Bugatti is now a Volkswagen production that has yet to commence), only Citroën has produced a true luxury car that not only was unique (in the positive sense) but managed to stand the test of time as a classic design. That car was the Citroën DS; the luxury sedan with the world’s first hydropneumatic self leveling suspension. Its debut was 50 years ago. 
Ever since, the marque has produced little in the upper market segment that could be considered original or even remotely competitive against the likes of Audi, BMW, or Mercedes-Benz. That is until now.
This Past weekend in Paris while taking an evening stroll down the fashionable Avenue Montagne, I came across the glittering sight of not one, but a line of six svelte jet black sedans all piercing the night with LEDs and xenon. These six cars sported chrome trim around the windows and a declining roof line that started high in the front and ended low in the rear. It was as though an Audi A6 has merged with a Toyota Prius. To some that might be the antithesis of high praise, but on that street and on that night, it all worked somehow. I write that it “worked” in the same way that Lincoln Town Cars manage to “work” in New York or Washington. In anything other than black and in the city, Town Cars are as everyday as Buicks LeSabres. Yet once in that definable city element, they are the car of choice in which to arrive chauffeured.
The same is true for what turns out to have been the new Citroën C6. See it advertised on the company’s w
ebsite www.c6.citroen.com. There have been rumors that French firms such as Citroën and Peugeot have been eyeing a return to the lucrative U.S. market. While I do not think that the C6 would lure away many Audi A6 or BMW 5-Series buyers in America, it is nice to find a fresh design that promises to restore the lost heritage of the DS. There has been for too long a hiatus of anything automotive from France that would prompt the terms “luxury”, “comfortable”, “reliable”, “ergonomically efficient”, “fun-to-drive”, or “exotic”. Let us hope that the C6 will set the tone for change.
Ever since, the marque has produced little in the upper market segment that could be considered original or even remotely competitive against the likes of Audi, BMW, or Mercedes-Benz. That is until now.
This Past weekend in Paris while taking an evening stroll down the fashionable Avenue Montagne, I came across the glittering sight of not one, but a line of six svelte jet black sedans all piercing the night with LEDs and xenon. These six cars sported chrome trim around the windows and a declining roof line that started high in the front and ended low in the rear. It was as though an Audi A6 has merged with a Toyota Prius. To some that might be the antithesis of high praise, but on that street and on that night, it all worked somehow. I write that it “worked” in the same way that Lincoln Town Cars manage to “work” in New York or Washington. In anything other than black and in the city, Town Cars are as everyday as Buicks LeSabres. Yet once in that definable city element, they are the car of choice in which to arrive chauffeured.
The same is true for what turns out to have been the new Citroën C6. See it advertised on the company’s w
ebsite www.c6.citroen.com. There have been rumors that French firms such as Citroën and Peugeot have been eyeing a return to the lucrative U.S. market. While I do not think that the C6 would lure away many Audi A6 or BMW 5-Series buyers in America, it is nice to find a fresh design that promises to restore the lost heritage of the DS. There has been for too long a hiatus of anything automotive from France that would prompt the terms “luxury”, “comfortable”, “reliable”, “ergonomically efficient”, “fun-to-drive”, or “exotic”. Let us hope that the C6 will set the tone for change.
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