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NORMALLY you’d look at a concept car like the Citroen Oli (above) and regard it as pie-in-the-sky thinking. After all, we see enough concepts that bear no relation to anything we might actually be able to buy. However, Citroen is different, ploughing a clear path towards value, style and sustainability. I’m liking what I’m seeing these days from the French brand that is fast reclaiming its crown as the king of original thinking. If it can put a car like the brilliant little Ami into production, why not the Oli? What I like most about the Ami is the purity of its purpose: it’s a city car plain and simple, with no illusions of being anything else. Having that clear vision allows the designers and engineers free reign to do what they…

John_McIlroy@autovia.co.uk @johnmcilroy • Spiritual successors for the TT and R8 are being planned • Halo supercar will likely arrive before the end of the decade AUDI has put itself on the path to an all-electric future – but the German brand isn’t about to abandon the glamour and ‘halo effect’ of its two sports cars, the TT and R8. So even as those two models approach the end of their long production runs (see Page 10), engineers and designers are working on EV alternatives that will be offered by the second half of this decade. The premium German brand has gone through a couple of years of soul searching as it has tried to define a replacement for the iconic TT. The original two-door model stunned the car industry when it was first unveiled in…

NORMALLY you’d look at a concept car like the Citroen Oli (above) and regard it as pie-in-the-sky thinking. After all, we see enough concepts that bear no relation to anything we might actually be able to buy. However, Citroen is different, ploughing a clear path towards value, style and sustainability. I’m liking what I’m seeing these days from the French brand that is fast reclaiming its crown as the king of original thinking. If it can put a car like the brilliant little Ami into production, why not the Oli? What I like most about the Ami is the purity of its purpose: it’s a city car plain and simple, with no illusions of being anything else. Having that clear vision allows the designers and engineers free reign to do…

sean_carson@autovia.co.uk • TT and R8 specials revealed • Limited numbers coming to UK AUDI is focusing on an all-electric future for its TT and R8 successors, but the brand isn’t forgetting the sporty models that have carved the German firm out as a serious player in the sports and supercar sectors. It’s giving the TT RS a special send-off with this Iconic Edition, and is celebrating its special V10 engine with the R8 GT RWD, which will become the most expensive Audi ever sold in the UK when it arrives. Arriving nearly 25 years after the Audi TT made its debut in 1998, the TT RS Iconic Edition is limited to just 100 units for Europe, with only 11 cars coming to the UK. Priced from £87,650, it features exclusive exterior and interior design…

Yousuf_Ashraf@autovia.co.uk @ashrafoncars • Concept previews Citroen’s future design and engineering • Lightweight EV uses simplified tech and 40kWh battery IN an effort to break the mould of expensive, samey electric cars, Citroen has revealed a radical crossover concept with a major focus on sustainability, low weight and affordability. The Oli employs the ethos of the Ami quadricycle in a larger body, and previews design and engineering themes that will filter down to mainstream Citroen models to be offered in the future. The brand claims the Oli isn’t a direct precursor to a production model, despite providing specific technical details for the show car. The Oli aims to buck the trend of heavy, gadget-laden EVs, with a projected kerbweight of just 1,000kg thanks to the use of lightweight recycled materials, simplified tech and a relatively small 40kWh…

John_McIlroy@autovia.co.uk @johnmcilroy • Spiritual successors for the TT and R8 are being planned • Halo supercar will likely arrive before the end of the decade AUDI has put itself on the path to an all-electric future – but the German brand isn’t about to abandon the glamour and ‘halo effect’ of its two sports cars, the TT and R8. So even as those two models approach the end of their long production runs (see Page 10), engineers and designers are working on EV alternatives that will be offered by the second half of this decade. The premium German brand has gone through a couple of years of soul searching as it has tried to define a replacement for the iconic TT. The original two-door model stunned the car industry when…