Citroën Showcases ELO Concept and Heritage at Rétromobile 2026

Citroën presents the ELO concept and historic cars at the 50th Rétromobile 2026, highlighting design heritage, innovation and future mobility. Learn more.

Citroën marks the 50th anniversary of the Rétromobile show with a large-scale return, turning its stand into a chronological exploration of ideas that have shaped the brand for more than a century. In January 2026, the manufacturer occupies 512 square metres to illustrate how past design experiments and technological research continue to influence its current vision of mobility.

At the heart of the display is the French public debut of the ELO concept car. Conceived as an “ideas laboratory”, ELO reflects Citroën’s attempt to rethink the car as a multifunctional space — for driving, working, relaxing and social interaction. Compact at around 4.10 metres in length yet designed to accommodate up to six occupants, the concept relies on a fully electric architecture to optimise interior space. The centrally positioned driver’s seat and panoramic visibility echo some of the brand’s boldest late-20th-century experiments, while the highly modular cabin points toward new usage scenarios.

ELO is presented in dialogue with a selection of landmark Citroën concept cars from different eras. The stand brings together the 1939 2 CV A prototype, which laid the foundations for accessible mobility, the aerodynamic C10 of the mid-1950s, the pyramid-shaped Karin from 1980 with its central driving position, the technology-focused Activa 1 of the late 1980s, the family-oriented Xanae revealed in 1994, and the sustainability-driven C-Cactus introduced in 2007. Together, they trace how ideas about layout, comfort and materials have evolved and ultimately informed the ELO concept.

A rare Traction Avant 15-6 Cabriolet from 1939 occupies a special place in the exhibition. Its return to Rétromobile is highly symbolic: the car was already shown at the very first edition of the event in 1976 and is displayed again with the support of the La Traction Universelle club, long dedicated to preserving the Traction Avant legacy. The presence of this prototype highlights the continuous link between Citroën’s history, its enthusiast community and its contemporary design studies.

By taking part in the anniversary edition of Rétromobile, Citroën does more than celebrate its past. The exhibition underlines that concept cars remain a core tool for the brand — not static museum pieces, but active experiments that help test ideas which may later influence production models and the broader understanding of comfort and versatility in everyday mobility.