It was the Citroen Karin’s debut at the 1980 Paris Motor Show, where it caused quite a stir with its unusual body that resembled a pyramid.
Why It Matters Now:
Citroen had some very interesting ideas back then, and the Karin is an excellent example of what designers can do when they are given complete freedom.
The concept was designed by Trevor Fiore (Citroen’s chief design officer), and is still stunning after nearly 36 years. It has one of the most compact roofs to be fitted onto a car. It is about the same size of a sheet ledger paper (for Europeans, that’s A3).
You can access the futuristic interior by opening the butterfly doors. It can accommodate three people. The McLaren F1’s driver’s seat is located centrally, flanked by two passenger seats.
While automakers today strive to include all controls in their infotainment systems, Citroen was all buttons in the 1980s. There were many controls that could be used to quickly access most functions of the Karin. Additional buttons were added to the door panels, which also featured built-in monitors. These were quite amazing back then.
Citroen did not intend to launch a production vehicle, so the pyramid-on wheels was just a concept. The double chevrons company that created the Karin was actually inspired by the 1980 Paris Motor Show, which didn’t have any new production models.
We believe that the Citroen Karin is a unique concept with a radical trapezoidal exterior design and avant-garde interior.
