Citroen’s New C6 II Flagship For China Is Dull As Dishwater

A flagship Citroën C6 was presented in China today, marking the return of a big luxury sedan in the French firm’s range after the demise of the original C6 in 2012.

The C6 II (name not confirmed yet) will be built in partnership with PSA Peugeot-Citroen’s Dongfeng joint-venture and will be exclusively sold in China, which may explain the drowsy design that carries none of the design eccentricity we’ve come to expect from the French brand’s range-toppers.

That’s a pity because Citroen’s local arm had actually come up with two very well-received and unique concepts for a Chinese flagship with the 2010 Metropolis and more recently, the 2012 Numero 9 DS (before DS became a brand of its own).

Instead, the production C6 is based off the bland Dongfeng Fengshen A9, which rides on PSA’s EMP2 platform. From these live photos, courtesy of Sacerdocearonger, the C6’s exterior looks very similar to the A9 with a more imposing chrome grille that merges into the headlamps, while inside, the French model gets a fully digital instrument cluster and a large touchscreen on the center console.

Little else is known about the X81 codenamed model at this point, but Chinese sources report that it will likely be offered with a number of turbocharged 1.8-liter and/or 2.0-liter gasoline fours.

We’ll know more when Citroen debuts the new C6 at the China Auto Show in Beijing later this month.

Thanks to Didz for the tip!