Gaul’s favorite warriors will be riding in style in the latest addition to the Asterix franchise because Citroën has created a chariot for the characters. Inspired by the legendary 2CV, the vehicle will cart the characters in the upcoming film, “Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom.”
Conceived and built in just three months, Citroën’s design team had to work overtime on this project, since it normally takes the company 12 months to create a concept vehicle. According to the company’s global design director, Pierre Leclercq, though, the French automaker was very happy to get the project done.
“We were presented with this incredible opportunity to create and build a concept chariot from scratch, and we had the most amazing time working on this project,” said Leclercq. “The result is an ode to the 2CV, the legendary car which represents Citroën in all its glory.”
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That work resulted in a chariot with windows, a sunroof, and a wooden body inspired by the classic Citroën. It also features a boar’s stomach suspension, magically boosted firefly headlights, and wheels made of recycled shields that feature the Citroën twin chevron logo.
The chariot shows up at various points in the film, such as when Caesar’s army reaches China, where it is featured on a billboard being pulled by two horses. The ad is a subtle allusion to a Citroën advertisement filmed on the Great Wall of China, the automaker says.
In addition, Citroën provided the crew that made the movie with a fleet of all electric vehicles to use while filming. The automaker also installed charging infrastructure at the filming sets, which were located at Bry-sur-Marne and Bretigny-Sur-Orge.
“Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom” will be released by Netflix in the spring of 2023 and features Vincent Cassel (“Black Swan,” “Ocean’s 12”) and Marion Cotillard (“Inception,” “La Vie En Rose”).
