Back to the future: Retro concept cars take spotlight at Paris auto show

From Citroen’s humble 2CV to Peugeot’s rally-bred 205 T16, some of France’s best-known cars of the past are getting an electric-age makeover at the Paris auto show.

Car makers unveiled a string of concept cars on Monday (October 12) drawing heavily on decades-old designs, mixing nostalgia with a glimpse of what their future models could look like.

Among the biggest crowd-pullers was Citroen’s reinterpretation of the 2CV, the famously simple car first presented at the Paris show in 1948.

The new electric concept retains distinctive features of the original, including its rounded headlights, roll-back roof and recognisable door handles, but its designers say the aim was not simply to recreate the past.

“If you look at the original brief of the 2CV, it’s still very modern in today’s society,” said Antoine Gaillot-Drevon, Citroen’s head of advance design. “Back then, the goal was to make a car that is affordable, lightweight, simple to use, and it’s still what people expect today,” he added.

Citroen is targeting a price of around 15,000 euros ($16,800) for a European-made low-cost electric car previewed by the concept and expected in 2028.

The French brand was not alone in looking to its history.

Peugeot unveiled the E-T16, a futuristic electric homage to the 205 T16 that won the World Rally Championship in 1985 and 1986.

The three-motor concept produces 816 horsepower and previews design elements expected on the next-generation electric 208.

“It’s an ultra-sporty vision of a B-segment car inspired by the T16, the 205 T16 from 40 years ago, and a precursor to next year’s new E-208,” Peugeot marketing director Phil York said.

Renault also looked back to the 1980s with its E-Space concept, a modern electric interpretation of the original E-Space people carrier, while the group’s Alpine sports car brand unveiled its low-slung A310 Vision.

Alpine said the concept draws on the A310 launched in the 1970s while looking towards the brand’s future.

“We are bringing our heritage to life,” Alpine COO Capucine Lorenzi said.

“By looking at the present and the future, we are revisiting what Alpine achieved in the past. We know where we are going, but we also know where we come from,” she added.

The retro revival comes as European car makers seek to sharpen their identities and attract buyers amid growing competition, particularly from Chinese manufacturers.

Stellantis, which owns Citroen, Peugeot, Fiat and Alfa Romeo, brought nine concept cars to Paris as CEO Antonio Filosa seeks to revive the group after two years of declining market share and profitability in its key European and North American markets.

But amid that industry battle, the concepts on display in Paris offered a simpler sales pitch: the cars of tomorrow may have more in common with those of yesterday than their electric motors suggest.