Although petrol-headed car enthusiast, Berkley Magazine decided to forgo attendance of the hybrid bonanza at the annual Geneva auto show that took place last week. The consolation is owed to GQ Magazine and Citroen who knocked their heads together and held a private auto show of their own in trendy and vibrant Covent Garden, where the Hospital Club played host to an unveiling party for an electrifying concept on Thursday the 4th of March.
In a deep and lustrous shade of red the car was the centre of attention in a small sized hall with curious eyes orbiting around it while mesmerising over the muscular rear flanks and seductive lines stretching beautifully across the doors. Named GQbyCitroen, the car is a gentleman transformed into a vehicle of independence and sophistication. The self-assurance is expressed through the revival the fastback body shape that drifted into oblivion at the end of the 1970s. It is a crossover between a wagon and a coupé, fostering otherwise contradictory versatility of being spectacular enough for Park Lane but practical enough for days when a mate needs a gentleman’s helping hand, and car, for a lift to the airport.
Patrick Grant, head of design at E.Tautz – a Savile Row tailor, took the inside job of treating the car with an interior fit for a gentleman. Inside the cabin, driver and passenger will be engulfed in black and red leather caringly stitched together by one of Savile Row’s rising stars. Unfortunately the Concept car at the unveiling was a clay model and thus, getting personal with the car remains in our dreams. However, a fully functioning prototype should not be ruled out as Citroen’s previous partnership, with the Gran Turismo 5 racing game, climaxed with a physical entity parading the streets of London in June 2009. Both GQ and Citroen remain coy over details about what is to follow, but if the vision is to be turned into reality, it will be powered by a 1.6 litre hybrid engine thrusting the car from 0-60mph in 4.5 and the driver from chap to gentleman in zero seconds flat.