Citroen just revealed a concept riff on the Cactus crossover that’s more beach than desert: The Cactus M, a topless beach cruiser that’s a spiritual, if not dimensionally faithful, successor to the 2CV-based Citroen Mehari of yore.
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Delightfully described in the French-language press release as “un crossover de plein air,” a phrase that sadly translates to English as the much more prosaic “an open-air crossover,” the Cactus M has a more upright windshield, higher ride height, blunter nose, and two fewer doors than the charmingly eccentric production crossover on which it’s based. It’s also, as you’ve no doubt surmised, sans roof—a feature that will especially be appreciated by rear-seat passengers, who are expected to hoist themselves into the car by clamoring up on the body-side foothold. The two large doors are plastic, an homage to the original Mehari’s all-plastic bodywork.
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The concept, which will make its debut at the Frankfurt International Motor Show later this month, “turns leisure into a lifestyle,” Citroen promises. With waterproof neoprene seat covers, a kit for hauling wakeboards or windsurfing gear, and hose-out drains in the footwells, it’s definitely got a French Jeep Wrangler vibe, though presumably with off-road capability more in line with Jeep’s wee, FWD-based Renegade.
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The Cactus M concept does have one feature that leaves all but the most outdoors-modified Wranglers in the dust: An inflatable roof that turns into a tent. Coupled with the lay-flat seats that can fold down into what Citroen describes as a “couchette,” the concept machine isn’t just your beach getaway vehicle, it’s the destination as well.
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We’ll get the chance to check out the Cactus M alongside Citroen’s other Cactus-based concept, the almost-conventional Aircross, as well as the production car itself. No word if such a design experiment could ever lead to a production vehicle—though if it did, it would probably be limited to the beach bums of the European market, just like its funky, boxy forebear.
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