Geneva Coverage
Pininfarina Osée
The Pininfarina Osée is their first research prototype to be conceived on Citroën mechanicals. It is a styling study that develops the theme of the pure mid-engined sports car, a new layout and concept for the French Company whilst preserving Citroën's philosophy and image.
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Pininfarina has a great tradition in the creative, technical and industrial fields, having been a partner in long-standing collaboration agreements, first and foremost its successful partnerships with Ferrari and Peugeot, dating back 50 years. And when Pininfarina began working with younger manufacturers such as the Japanese, it established a stable relationship with Honda that has now been in existence over 25 years. The will and ability to create lasting agreements does not mean that the company has lost interest in the new evolutionary trends in the car, or in an international approach to the market. In the 1950s the company founder Pinin Farina was the testimonial for the launch of the Nash-Healey in the United States, and today Pininfarina designs and develops cars for the Chinese market, with the aim to establish another long-term collaboration agreement.
Although Pinifarina has well established links with many major companies, it often sets out to prove it's ability outside its normal client base. This is evident in the Osée with which Pininfarina aimed to demonstrate its strategic interest in being considered as a potential all-round partner by PSA, for all its product ranges, at every possible level of collaboration: design, engineering and the production of niche models.
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Work on the design of the Osée began in the second half of 2000. The intention was to push the Citroën brand from a new perspective. The design required fresh ideas carefully balanced with an applied knowledge and understanding of the brand identity and the identifiable characteristics of a Citroën.
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Pininfarina identified a number of features present in models such as the DS and the SM which, in addition to representing a historical and cultural heritage for the make, are also fundamental benchmarks for contemporary car design:
• Extreme volume ratios linked to the engineering structure, with a large front bonnet/wing and the passenger
compartment pushed backwards.
• Smooth, simple, streamlined surfaces, animated by clearly legible guidelines.
• A pointed section at the centre of the bonnet
• Lines that descend towards the rear
• Continuous front with air intakes half hidden in the lower part.
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An architecture with a centre-mounted longitudinal engine was chosen, to underline the total split with the platforms and the types of car that make up the Citroën universe today, leaving more space to take volumetric research to its extreme. To emphasise the goal of exploitation of space, the width in this case, the interior was designed to seat three, with the driver at centre front and the passengers at either side, further back. The inverted "L" recalls the chevron of the Citroën logo, a coincidence that allows the passengers to be seated out of line, recovering lateral space, while the driver is not hindered, as he usually is, by the wheelarch. To simplify access to the central seat, the entire upper part of the passenger compartment can be removed. This proposal has never been attempted in mass production, and increases the visual impact of the show car, paying homage to the many prototypes that introduced it in the 1960s.
The overhangs are very short, with the wheels at the four corners, giving the car an impression of great compactness and stability.
The long wheelbase (2650 mm) and the forward position of the windscreen make the car's proportions very unusual.
The spirit with which an independent design house tackles a project is very different from that of a car maker's own in-house designers.
The latter's skill lies in continuing to interpret and develop brand styling through its models.
The skill of the independent designer, on the contrary, is to come up with specific shapes for the various makes for which he works, according to his own aesthetic and creative vision. And he is more successful in the extent to which his personal vision adapts and enhances the characteristics of each different make.
The character of the Osée is the result of its proportions and a few strong design elements. The long wheelbase, non-existent overhangs and backward cabin convey a strong styling personality. The central rib creates a "spinal cord" effect that runs from the double chevron of the nose, through the cabin to the rear.
The side is deliberately smooth, with no additional movements or sculpted elements that would spoil or interrupt it.
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Smooth surfaces, a slightly pointed nose and sides descending towards the rear are typical features of the DS and SM, the models taken as paragons of modern Citroën design.
The nose has a rounded section which links smoothly up with the upper and lower parts of the car.
The air intake is symbolised by the narrow slits that start from the Citroën logo at the centre of the car. A second air intake is camouflaged in the lower part, in the best brand tradition. The triangular light clusters accompany the logo and underline the longitudinal lines of the car's structure.
The windscreen emerges from the wide, short bonnet, with a continuous cut up to the roof. The edge of the window terminates with a slit that supplies the engine air intake. The continuous horizontal surface of the roof tapers off in the plan view, to create a sharp vertical volume that is another strong point of the car. The air outlets of the engine bay are built into the roof surface, continuing the arrow shaped cut of the windscreen, and reiterating the chevron motif in the plan view.
To allow access to the interior, the entire superstructure of the cabin is lifted up by a hydraulic system activated by remote control.
The interior conveys the same philosophies: pioneering flight, the materials, the central spinal cord.
The three passengers are seated in a triangle to make better use of transverse space.
Because it is a pure sports car, the central role of the driving position is emphasised both physically and ideally.
The driver is seated on a very essential shell anchored to the car. The steering wheel and pedals are both adjustable.
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