Citroen Basalt has been announced — an analogue of the deceased Russian Renault Arkana

The new coupe-shaped SUV is addressed to poor markets. The first show will be held in a couple of days.

In 2021, Citroen announced that it would create a whole family of budget cars for emerging markets: the project was designated C-Cubed. The first-born was the C3 hatchback, then it was joined by the small crossover C3 Aircross, which, however, is available with a three-row interior (in both cases — not to be confused with the Citroens of the same name for Europe). Car production has been established in Brazil and India. And now the third model has been announced. In general, it was believed that a sedan would join the range, but no, it’s a five-door again. The brand itself is positioning the upcoming car as a coupe-shaped SUV, and it no longer has the C3 index: they came up with a separate name for the new product: Basalt. Well, in reality, we are probably waiting for the premiere of an “elevated” liftback.

Like the rest of the C-Cubed state employees, the coupe will be built on the CMP platform. Most likely, the Citroen Basalt will also be unified with its brothers: in particular, it may receive similar head optics, hood and exterior mirrors. But the stern, of course, will be designed differently, and we’re not just talking about the body behind the rear pillars: for example, the teaser shows the original lights. The dimensions of the cross-coupe are unknown. The length of the Brazilian Citroen C3 Aircross is 4320 mm, the wheelbase is 2675 mm. Inside, the coupe-shaped SUV will probably replicate its relatives, that is, we are waiting for a digital instrument panel and a large multimedia system tablet towering above the front panel.

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Basalt will share technology with the budget C3 Aircross — the hardware varies depending on the market. Thus, in Brazil, a coupe-like SUV will be offered with a 1.0 turbocharged engine from Fiat: traditionally for this country, the engine runs on both gasoline (125 hp) and ethanol (130 hp), the engine is combined with a CVT. In India, the new product will be available with a 1.2 three-cylinder petrol engine with a power of 110 hp, which is equipped with a six-speed manual transmission or a classic six-speed automatic transmission. But all models of the C-Cubed family have exclusively front-wheel drive.

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The online show of Citroen Basalt will take place on March 27th. Like its sister models Citroen C3 and C3 Aircross, the coupe-like SUV will be made at Brazilian and Indian factories. In India, the Basalt will compete with the Tata Curvv (the production version has not yet been presented), and in Brazil, the main rival of the new product will be its “colleague” from the Stellantis concern – Fiat Fastback. The Citroen Basalt will also be supplied to other poor markets, that is, somewhere it will also certainly clash with the Renault Arkana (the Renault cross-coupe is available, for example, in Costa Rica, although it differs from the Russian defunct Arkana).

Meanwhile, in the more distant future, the Indian Basalt may also acquire an electric version — the local Citroen C3 hatchback has one. At the same time, the Indians hope that more attention will be paid to the safety of the cross-coupe: the electric hatch just failed crash tests.