The Citroën C6 is an executive car produced from 2005 to 2012, with production starting again in China in 2016 and ending there in 2023. It was inspired by the Citroën C6 Lignage concept car, shown at Geneva in 1999, and it replaced the Citroën XM.
Citroën C6 at a glance
| Maker | Citroën, France |
|---|---|
| Production | November 2005–December 2012; China 2016–2023 |
| Built | 23,384 |
| Concept | Citroën C6 Lignage, Geneva 1999 |
| Replaced | Citroën XM |
| Petrol engine | 3.0-litre ES9 V6, 211 PS |
| Diesels | 2.7 V6 HDi 204 PS, 2.2 HDi 170 PS, 3.0 V6 HDi 240 PS from 2009 |
| Suspension | Hydractive 3+ with electronically controlled springing and damping |
| Body | fastback saloon with a concave rear window |
| Pedestrian safety | bonnet pops up 65 mm by pyrotechnic mechanism |
| Successor | DS 9 |
Based on one source (English Wikipedia). The free photographs available show the Chinese C6 of 2016, a different car, so the record keeps its existing cover image.
History of the Citroën C6
Five years late
The C6 Lignage concept of 1999 formed the basis of the production C6, which was launched in November 2005, five years later than Citroën had planned. The XM had stopped in June 2000 and the first C6 came off the line almost six years later. The car has a fastback profile, helped by a concave rear window that recalls the CX, but it is a conventional saloon with a traditional boot rather than a hatchback like the XM. It was aimed as a stylish alternative to executive cars such as the BMW 5 Series and the Audi A6, and has been described as a “spaceship that rides on air”, “charmingly idiosyncratic” and “refreshingly different”. Car magazine ran a 2.7 V6 in 2007 and rated its “waftability” and comfortable interior, while finding its acceleration effortless but not up to the BMW 5 Series.
Engines
The C6 was powered by a 3.0-litre ES9 V6 of 211 PS or a 2.7-litre V6 HDi diesel of 204 PS. In October 2006 a 2.2-litre HDi of 170 PS with a particulate filter, four cylinders and twin turbos joined the range — the same DW12 engine Land Rover later used in the Freelander 2 and Range Rover Evoque. In June 2009 a new 3.0-litre V6 HDi of 240 PS replaced the 2.7. The 3.0 petrol was dropped in February 2009, leaving the two diesels with six-speed automatics, and in some markets from 2010 only the 3.0 HDi 240 Exclusive was offered.
Technology and the Élysée
Citroën hoped the C6 would sell on technology: a heads-up display, lane departure warning, xenon directional headlamps, Hydractive 3+ suspension with electronically controlled springing and damping, and a rear spoiler that adjusted to speed and braking. It was the first car to obtain four stars in the pedestrian test of Euro NCAP, because its bonnet popped up 65 mm on a pyrotechnic mechanism if a person or animal was hit, increasing the gap between the deformable bonnet and the engine beneath. On Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson filmed a horse race from a camera mounted on the car driving over the rough infield at Towcester, and the C6 kept the picture steady where a BMW 5 Series with the M Sport package could not. It became a prominent car in the fleet at the Élysée Palace: Jacques Chirac used a pre-series car and both he and Nicolas Sarkozy chose the C6 as their official car.
The end and a Chinese namesake
Citroën stopped right-hand-drive production in May 2012 and ended European production in December 2012 after 23,384 cars; its replacement was the DS 9. A different car called C6 was sold in China from 2016 to 2023, based on the PSA PF3 platform and twinned with the Dongfeng A9.
Design and features
- Hydractive 3+: electronically controlled springing and damping, the heart of the car’s reputation.
- Pedestrian bonnet: a pyrotechnic mechanism lifted it 65 mm, a first for four Euro NCAP pedestrian stars.
- Heads-up display: information projected in the driver’s line of sight.
- Concave rear window: a CX reference that kept the rear screen clear without a wiper.
- Presidential choice: the official car of Chirac and Sarkozy.
Citroën C6 versions
- C6 3.0 V6 petrol: 211 PS, sold until February 2009.
- C6 2.7 V6 HDi: 204 PS, 2005–2009.
- C6 2.2 HDi: 170 PS twin-turbo four, from October 2006.
- C6 3.0 V6 HDi: 240 PS, from June 2009.
- C6 Exclusive: the most equipped trim, the only one left in some markets by 2010.
- Chinese C6 (2016–2023): a different car on the PF3 platform.
The C6 replaced the XM and sat above the C5; its design ancestor is the CX. More cars are in the Citroën collection.
Video: Lancia Thema, Citroën C6, Jaguar XF, Renault Latitude – Diesel-Limousinen im Test
Video by AUTO BILD on YouTube.
Sources
- Citroën C6, English Wikipedia: history, engines, technology, safety, production, Chinese model
