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This is the Citroen Revolte concept car - unveiled at last year's Frankfurt motor show - in hitherto unseen detail.

Following an exclusive tour of the Citroen Revolt by Citroen's concept design boss Carlo Bonzanigo, autocar.co.uk's Hilton Holloway explains: "The Mini-sized Revolte concept is the first sign that Citroen might be ready to exploit retro design as well as re-exploring the essence of 'Frenchness' in a way that might appeal right across Europe."

See the exclusive Citroen Revolte pictures

Hilton Holloway blog - Citroen Revolte - as confusing as it is stunning

The Revolte is 3.8m long and is based on the same platform as the C3 and DS3, but it has non-existent overhangs and a wide track. What is most obvious are the clear references to the 2CV, through the curving shutline of the rear door, the hooped front wings and the wide, flat elevation of the rear end.

Faced with entering a new decade as the producer of an odd mix of perfectly practical superminis and people-carriers and dull hatches, Citroen clearly needs to nail a convincing new product philosophy. True, there's the DS3, but its ads make a point of it not lapsing into retro design. So what's the point of the ultra-retro Revolt concept?

"The Revolte is a small urban luxury car. The main idea, perhaps, was to express luxury in a different way," says Bonzanigo. "I see Citroen as the most Parisian of the three French automotive brands. Paris is the centre of the fashion world, so colour and trim were particularly important on this project. We didn't want to just use leather, chrome and wood, so we've used crystal."

Does this mean it's a feminine car, aimed at women? Bonzanigo only says "women like men's cars but probably not the other way round. If we went to mass production, the final car could not just be for women or just for men. But making this a very feminine car is okay for a concept."

Bonzanigo also highlights the cabin's two zones. "In the front there are hard carbonfibre race-style seats, which are combined with a cocoon-like rear cabin. The cockpit is more cold and the driver's seat like a foreign object in the context of the rest of the interior."

So is the Revolte the new 2CV or not?

"Of course it has 2CV influence," says Bozanigo. "We can now shamelessly speak about the future and our history in one breath. Citroen is ready for the next step. But this is not retro design. It contains quotations from the past. The 2CV was spartan and essential; the Revolte is rich."

Holloway concludes by admitting his confusion with the concept. "Whether it will go into production, and how it fits in with the DS3, Bozanigo won't reveal. But Citroen needs to follow in the steps of Peugeot and really get a grip on a product philosophy that successfully ties these frustrating loose ends together"

For the full Citroen Revolte concept feature buy this week's Autocar magazine, on sale now.

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