That sentiment was echoed by head designer Pierre Leclerc, who said the ELO follows in the footsteps of the legendary 2CV people’s car – and latterly the diminutive Ami city car – in using a novel interior concept to “create an incredible lifestyle”.
“All the studies show us that people want their car as a third place to live, because they want freedom but also privacy,” he said.
“The brief of this project was very simple: we wanted to revolutionise the interior in a very small platform.”
One of the headline features of this radical new cabin concept is a novel three-by-three interior configuration, with a McLaren F1-style central driving position.
Leclerq said this is a logical format for urban motoring – “if you’re in the centre, you’re going to have good visibility towards the outside” – and added that it can be a boon on longer trips, too: “The kids want to drive next to mama or papa when they go on vacation.”
The driver’s seat features its own suspension, in the form of foam blocks inside its frame, and comes with a desk attachment for working on the go. The front passenger chairs, meanwhile, can be removed and stowed inside the rear row when they aren’t needed.
The rear seats were inspired by the pop-out camping furniture stocked by French sporting goods retailer Decathlon, with which Citroën collaborated to design the ELO. Although the row of seats itself is fixed, the bases can be removed and feature fold-out legs for use outside the car.