Just recently, we shared with you that Citroen is working on bringing a 6-speed AT unit with the C3 in 2023. Now, new spy shots reveal that the French carmaker is also testing out the CNG version of the same and is expected to roll out in the second half of 2023.
The spied shot was heavily camouflaged and it was hard to identify the model at first but the orange highlights gave away. While it did not have any plastic cladding, the overall silhouette of the hatchback made it clear that it was the Citroen C3.
We expect that the carmaker will bring in the CNG with the 1.2-litre, non-turbo petrol motor. The three-cylinder, naturally aspirated, BS6 compliant engine belts out as much as 81 bhp of power with a peak torque of 115 Nm. It gets mated to a five-speed manual transmission as standard.
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In the CNG mode, do expect a 10-15% loss of peak power and torque. It will be mated to a stick shift unit only and no automatic will be offered even as an option in the CNG version of the C3. In the spy shot captured, it was the equipment at the rear which gave away that the carmaker could be testing a CNG model.
Currently, C3 competes directly with Tata Punch, Maruti Ignis and some variants of the Nissan Magnite and Renault Kiger. By this pace, the C3 might be the first CNG-powered vehicle in its segment. However, it will have major competition from already popular CNG models like Maruti S-Presso, Celerio and the Wagon R.
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Citroen C3 is priced from Rs 5.71 lakh to Rs 6.93 lakh for the 1.2L non-turbo petrol. It comes with a standard warranty of 2 years or 40,000 km, whichever is at the earliest. We expect that once the CNG version is rolled into the market, it will be priced at an expected premium of Rs 80,000 from the regular petrol models.
