On the one hand, a disruptive crossover with a vertical windscreen, unconventional in every detail and thought out based upon a simplification criterion (the principle of “enough”: avoid excess technology). In other words, bold glazed surfaces to reduce sunlight and the use of air conditioning, identical bumpers on the front and rear, seats assembled from just three components, a dashboard capable of doing away with its own software in favour of a smartphone.
On the other hand, a collection of furniture objects that was heteroclitic, but often focused on sustainability and always accompanied by awareness-raising initiatives. For the second year, Citroën took part in the Design Week at the Rossana Orlandi showroom, where the RoCOLLECTIBLE 2023 exhibition and the RoGUILTLESS PLASTIC 2023 project, directed towards a more virtuous management of synthetic materials, were also taking place.

“It is an honour to be back in this historic place of creativity at such a lively moment in time,” enthuses Pierre Leclercq, head of Citroën styling. “Above all, here we can show – and I personally love it – the unconventional solutions that we are pursuing with great conviction to really curious and receptive onlookers who are different from those you meet at classic motor shows. We even allowed ourselves a ride in the prototype in the nearby streets awash in a swarm of amazed eyes and positive comments!”. If in 2022 a parade of signed customisations drew unprecedented graphics on the Ami quadricycle, this time the Oli concept (whose name, almost in rhyme with the other, means “holistic” but also “all-ë”, “all-electric”) seems to play on a deeper level. “The recycled parts for the front bonnet and the carpeting of the cabin closely converse with the designers’ research, in the name of the same message: not everything appears clear and definitive, but one should follow the path of ecology even without certainty. Even the floor of the stand, for consistency, is made of recycled materials.”

On the other hand, Rossana Orlandi, an authentic emblem of the Milanese galleries and recent recipient of the Compasso d’Oro for her career, according to the company, “immediately grasped and appreciated the car’s modern character and original design.” Integrating it, significantly, with the colourful yield of objects and people with which its spaces were being swarmed. So much so, in fact, that more than one person enquired about the possibility of a purchase and its price…