Set to be the the star of its stand at the Frankfurt show is this concept based on the classic Citroen Mehari.
The Mehari, of course, was a basic and hugely popular utilitarian vehicle built of the 2CV platform between 1968 and 1986. The perfect summer car, it had the 2CV’s signature narrow wheels and raised suspension, but was topped with hard-wearing and practical plastic bodywork.
This new Citroen Cactus M – the “M” is for “Mehari” – is clearly based on the excellent C4 Cactus (we have one in our long-termer fleet) and features a new windscreen and a revised body with lightweight plastic doors. The windscreen’s 60-degree rake, unique alloys shod in thin tyres, single windscreen wiper, and visible door hinges are all nods to its ancestor.
There’s a fabric roof under the boot floor and that is manually raised. In a neat little trick, a compressor pumps air through three tubes that traverse the windscreen and rear roll-over hoop to keep the roof rigid.The roof can also double up as a tent that fixes to the back half of the car, while the back seat can fold down to create a bed.
The interior echoes the standard C4 Cactus but, true it to it’s ready-for-the beach persona, features neoprene fabric seats which are waterproof and designed to resemble wetsuits. In fact, the entire interior is completely waterproof. Peel back the rubber floor mats and plugholes allow water to escape the foot-wells
Under the bonnet lies the same 1.2-litre turbo petrol found in the C4 Cactus (read our road test here) and a fully automatic six-speed box not used in the five-door crossover before.
