Car Throttle

With the roaring success of the DS3 already under Citroen's belt and an admittedly average post-launch reception of the DS4 last year, the French manufacturer is attempting to get back on track with their third release in the DS range, the new DS5. We attended a launch event at SMMT's HQ in Westminster to find out a little more about the car and how it aims to captivate through design. According to Andy Cowell, the British-born designer of the DS5, launching this D-segment competitor has been similar in emotion to the release of a musician's third album; the first tending to break an artist, the second catapulting them into A-list limelight, and the third cementing their status as an icon. Whilst the DS4 compact hasn't been

Even though the recent recession fatally wounded parts of the industry and fossil fuels running dry will threaten its future, the world of cars is still very much alive and kicking. There is such a variety of new products coming out this year ranging from affordable city cars you'll actually want to own, to ridiculously expensive supercars you'll lust after, old school coupes to revolutionary family cars, petrol engines to plug-in electric motors. The list is almost endless. So to help fellow car lovers and "new kids on the block" out, here's a round-up of 33 cars we can't wait to see in 2012 in order of release date. January 2012 Kia Optima It's been available around the world for a while but the Kia Optima

For those who love the idea of the Mini Coupe but don't want a roof that looks like a baseball cap, I bring great news. Mini has released images of a new convertible version of the coupe called the Roadster. The new Roadster has a fabric roof, just like in the bigger Mini Convertible, but unlike it's bigger brother, the fabric roof folds away into its own storage compartment instead of lying on the back end. The roof is semi-automatic meaning that to put it down you would unlock a latch yourself and then the roof will fold away by itself. There are other differences with its bigger convertible sibling. The Roadster sits 20mm closer to the ground, the

Today's Car Cameo features a young British female known for her good looks, catchy songs and tight outfits. Admittedly the latter point isn't the only reason I like this particular video, no, it's because our friends at Citroën have managed to team up with Pixie Lott, Pusha T and Mercury Records to place one of their DS3 Racing hot hatches into their music video, "What Do You Take Me For?" This particular DS3 is the Racing edition. It's particular noticeable thanks to its Obsidian Black paint job coupled with Sport Orange roof and alloy wheels, which incidentally are monster "Nemesis" 18 inchers. The French manufacturer have placed a 1.6-litre engine unit into the Racing tuned to output 207hp at 6,000rpm and 275Nm of torque from 2,000rpm. Mated

The Paris Auto Show is fast approaching and introductions are coming out ahead of the show. Citroen, a unique French automaker, has been in the news a lot lately with its revived DS range. There was the DS Inside Concept that became the DS3, and we covered the sporting version of that car, the DS3 Racing, recently. Then there was the DS High Rider Concept. The DS4 becomes the production version of that concept. Of the DS vehicles we've seen, the DS4 has to be our favorite hands down. The design closely follows that of the DS High Rider Concept introduced last March. That is a good thing, as we really liked that concept. There isn't a whole lot of changes - for production, the DS4 adds two

Back in March (we know, it seems like a long time, doesn't it?) Citroen made a splash with its introduction of the Citroen DS3 Racing at the Geneva Auto Show. As its name implies, the DS3 Racing spiced things up significantly. We particularly liked the car's look (but then again, we're a sucker for orange). Months later, Citroen is releasing official details on the production model of this car. For starters, it will be a limited production model to create buzz and interest around the Citroen brand. Only 1,000 units will be produced, with 200 right-hand drive models destined for the United Kingdom. Orders for the car start on September 1st. Citroen says it has received over 1,500 expressions of interest in the car. Two paint schemes will be

The Citroen Metropolis Concept was introduced at the Beijing Auto Show, along with a host of other sedans like the Audi A8 L and updated Volkswagen Phaeton. In one measure though - size, the Metropolis trumps them all. The Metropolis is huge! When we last heard about it, only computer-generated renderings of the car were out. Since then, Citroen has released a ton of new images of the car. In a word, they are stunning. Citroen didn't hold back with this car, producing a sedan that looks every bit the high pricetag it will likely be offered for. No word on production, but with the Chinese luxury sedan market being so lucrative, it is definitely a strong possibility.

Ah, French automakers. Got to love them! The land of Bugatti (no, it isn't Italian) is also home to Citroen and Peugeot, two of the quirkiest automakers around. Who could forget the iconic 2CV or DS, the moniker of which is now being brought back for a lineup of new cars. One thing that Citroen has never really been known for is large cars. But there is a first time for everything, right? In that case, that would be with the Metropolis. The Metropolis is the first car to be designed by PSA Group’s Shanghai design studio. It looks the part of a large luxury sedan, while still remaining uniquely Citroen. If you're going to do something, do it right - and Citroen is going all out with the

Take that, John Cooper Works Mini Coopers! Or maybe not. Citroen doesn't say that their 200-HP Citroen DS3 Racing was built to directly go up against the hottest hatch in the Mini line up, but I (for one) would like to see them duke it out on the track. (No, not the street. I don't condone excess amounts of speed on the street. Nope. Not me. (Then again, "excess" is a qualitative term.).) Anyway, it seems that although Citroen intends for the DS3 to be a road car, that didn't stop them from asking the company's racing department – the same outfit that fashioned so many nasty-quick WRC-winning rally cars – to create a hotter version of the little hatchback. And so, the DS3 Racing

Last year at this time, word just came out that Citroen was planning on bringing back the "DS" moniker for a new lineup of more premium vehicles. The first of those was the Citroen DS Inside Concept (DS3 for production), introduced at the Geneva Auto Show. Since then, there has been other "DS" concepts, including the Revolte and most recently, the DS Highrider Concept (best of the bunch). When the DS3 came out, many (including this writer) were disappointed at the lack of any homage to the original, iconic DS. It looks like we just might be able to forgive them for that after seeing the new DS3 Racing. The DS3 Racing is a limited edition model restricted to only 1,000 units. Power has been