C4 Declared the World Car Design of the Year for 2006

[Stefanel1]

At a press conference at the Jacob Javitz Centre in Manhattan, New York, the Citroen C4 was declared the World Car Design of the Year for 2006.

The World Car of the Year Awards are intended to reflect today’s auto industry and market trends, and one of the major factors in a purchaser’s decision is the appearance of a vehicle. The World Car Design of the Year category, and award, is meant to highlight new vehicles with innovation and style that push established boundaries.

The top three contenders for World Car Design of the Year were the Citroen C4 as well as the BMW 3-Series and the European version of the Honda Civic / Civic Hybrid.

The Citroën C4, which won the top design honours, incorporates the same stylistic originality that defined the brand's reputation in the past, without reverting to a retro look. It is a modern, cost-effective design that allows two different body styles for the five- and three-door versions, creating two distinctly different looks from a common base.

Aerodynamics, a traditional cornerstone of the Citroën character, also play a key role. Other references to tradition, evolved in contemporary form, include Citroën's historical one-spoke steering wheel, manifested here as a tight two-spoke design in which the rim rotates while the hub housing all the controls remains fixed. True to its heritage, the car marches to the beat of its own drummer.

Claude Satinet, general managing director of Automobiles Citroën, made the following comments once the winner was known : “The C4 reflects Citroën commitment to bringing customers innovative and appealing cars. The C4 design is an excellent demonstration of Citroën’s knowledge, to create a design presenting three completely different cars, C4 coupé, C4 Berline and C-Triomphe on the same platform, with the same technology and safety level, and in this way obtaining 5 stars in the EuroNcap crash tests. The World Car Design award proves our capacity to innovate in modern car design and this new award for the C4 adds to the long list of prizes won in many countries around the world in 2005.”

The Citroen C4 was chosen from an initial entry list of twenty-seven (27) candidates nominated by the World Car of the Year jurors. All candidates for the overall World Car of the Year award, and only those vehicles, were eligible for the World Car Design of the Year Award.

A panel of four design experts was chosen by the World Car of the Year Steering Committee to first review each candidate, and then establish a short-list of six recommendations for the jury. Jurors then voted on those recommendations. . The international accounting firm KPMG tabulated all ballots to first determine the finalists, and finally the winner.