Citroen DS5 hybrid diesel features F1 power boost, head-up display

If Citroen's funky DS3 super-mini is a rival to the Mini, and its DS4 is a rival to the Nissan Qashqai, then its new DS5 is squaring up to take on fighter jets and Formula One cars -- sort of.

The DS5, unveiled at the Shanghai motor show this week, features a 'coupé-like' driving position, a cockpit backlit by LED lights, and a colour head-up display that projects key driving data (speed, nav information and so on) onto the windscreen, in the driver's line of sight.

The car even has two centre consoles -- one low down and another above the driver's head, like you'd get in a chopper.

Sadly, the DS5 won't be reaching Mach anything anytime soon, but it's propulsion system is still relatively futuristic. It's the first Citroen model to use the Hybrid4 diesel hybrid power train, first unveiled in the forthcoming Peugeot 3008 Hybrid4.

The car uses a diesel engine to power the front wheels and a battery-powered electric motor to drive the rear wheels. As with all hybrids, the latter helps boost fuel economy and even allows for a spot of short-distance EV-only cruising. More interestingly, though, the electric motor can also be used to temporarily increase performance, thanks to a KERS-style boost function, a seen in F1 cars.

The DS5 will have CO2 emissions of just 99g/km, but Citroen is keeping schtum on the car's fuel economy. If the DS5 is anything like the 3008 Hybrid4, however, it'll return somewhere in the region of 74mpg, which is Toyota Prius territory.

There's no word on when the DS5 will go on sale, but we'll update this article with that information as soon as it becomes available. In the meantime, have a gander through the photos in the above gallery to get a closer look.