CITROëN'S ELO IS THE TINY HOUSE TROOPER FOR REST, WORK AND PLAY
Citroën has uncorked another slice of forward-thinking eccentricity with ELO, a concept that takes the baton from 2022’s OLI and sprints off into some beautifully bonkers future where a car isn’t just a car, it’s a lifestyle capsule with wheels. True to the brand’s long history of freeing mobility from the boring bits, ELO arrives as a rolling laboratory built to explore how people will move, live, rest, play and work in a world that’s spinning faster every year. It’s compact, colourful, charming and full of clever touches, chasing that classic Citroën mission: make life lighter, smarter and more enjoyable. ELO’s proportions whisper “city runabout,” but step inside and the little thing suddenly expands like a magician’s suitcase. Its EV architecture frees up a huge interior footprint, allowing Citroën to reinvent the MPV spirit for the modern era. The result is a mini-van silhouette barely longer than a compact hatch, yet capable of seating up to six, transforming into a lounge, a workspace, a sleep pod for two, or even a tiny home cinema with inflatable Dropstitch mattresses crafted in collaboration with outdoor specialists Decathlon. It’s as if Citroën wanted to bottle human adaptability and pour it into a playful, modular cabin where the furniture bends to your rhythm, not the other way around.
The driving position is a lovely throwback to 1980s experimental concepts, with the driver sitting dead-centre behind a panoramic 180-degree windscreen, perched high and able to spin the seat around to join the conversation when parked. The signature single-spoke steering wheel returns, now equipped with intuitive joystick controls, framing a futuristic projected display. Rather than packing the dash with expensive hardware, Citroën opted for a reflective transparent screen that makes digital info bloom across the glass like colourful floating glyphs - magical, affordable, and very on-brand.
Inside this bubbly cocoon, everything is designed to do more than one job. The removable rear seats double as outdoor chairs, a cheeky nod to the 2CV camping legacy. Built-in compressor? That’s for your paddleboard, your bike tyres, your air mattress or the concept’s own inflatable bedding. V2L turns ELO into a base camp for electric BBQs, speakers or whatever gadget your adventure demands. Even the bumpers have flat utility pads so you can park your snacks or drinks while stargazing through the massive rear roof opening.
ELO might be compact, but its imagination is huge. By throwing out the rulebook and focusing on what people actually do between journeys, Citroën’s created a pocket-sized sanctuary ready for workdays, playdays, nap days and every delight in between. It’s not a transport pod. It’s not a camper. It’s not an MPV. It’s a rolling life-capsule designed for an age where mobility is more than motion; it’s time reclaimed, repurposed and enjoyed.
Take a look at the YouTube video that shows off the rather rad little ELO, a van that's not a van and a car that's not a car, or something like that: ELO Concept Car – Small Is the New Big | REST • PLAY • WORK | Citroën
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