{"id":1116,"date":"2026-02-01T16:09:40","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T16:09:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/?p=1116"},"modified":"2026-04-09T15:17:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T15:17:39","slug":"citroen-citela-the-modular-electric-revolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/en\/citroen-citela-la-revolution-electrique-modulaire\/","title":{"rendered":"Citro\u00ebn Citela: the modular electric revolution"},"content":{"rendered":"

Preamble<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The history of the motor car is punctuated by bold projects, by futuristic visions that sometimes never see the light of day. The Citro\u00ebn Citela is one of them. Quite a while ago now, I had the urge to bring it back to life, in my own way, in 1\/43 scale. I made a test copy, and then I moved on to other things, notably my first shared model, the Type J. It was thanks to this first creation and another miniature designer collector (Peter, better known as Marpytoys<\/a>that the project was revived and has resulted today in different versions of this miniature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Citela
Photo credit: Garage143<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n
Photo credits: Marpytoys<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Do
Photo credit: Marpytoys<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Historical reminder: the dawn of the electrical age<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the early 1990s, European cities, and Paris in particular, were suffocating. Traffic was heavy, pollution omnipresent and parking a daily headache. It was against this backdrop that Citro\u00ebn, true to its reputation as an innovative manufacturer, revived its research into the electric car. The ECO 2000 project, carried out a few years earlier, had already paved the way. But with the Citela, presented in 1992 at the Seville Universal Exposition, the double-chevron brand went much further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An ambitious project: modularity serving the urban environment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Citela (for CITy ELectric Automobile) is not just a simple electric car. It was a true \u00abtransformer\u00bb ahead of its time. Designed by the coachbuilder Heuliez, it is based on a technical platform to which an interchangeable passenger cell can be attached. In less than five minutes, the Citela can thus transform into a city car, a pick-up, a cabriolet or even a small utility vehicle. Unprecedented versatility, designed to adapt to all the needs of urban life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technical specifications<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Characteristic<\/th>Value<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Engine<\/strong><\/td>72 V \/ 20 kW electric<\/td><\/tr>
Batteries<\/strong><\/td>Nickel-Cadmium (NiCd)<\/td><\/tr>
Autonomy<\/strong><\/td>110 km (urban cycling) to 210 km (steady speed)<\/td><\/tr>
Maximum speed<\/strong><\/td>110 km\/h<\/td><\/tr>
Acceleration<\/strong><\/td>0 to 50 km\/h in 8 seconds<\/td><\/tr>
Weight<\/strong><\/td>790 kg<\/td><\/tr>
Length<\/strong><\/td>2.96 m<\/td><\/tr>
Top-up<\/strong><\/td>8 hours from a standard socket, rapid charging available<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A comprehensive ecological vision<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Beyond its clean engine, the Citela is designed to be environmentally friendly from its conception to its recycling. Its bodywork is made of recycled plastic, and all parts are marked to facilitate their treatment at the end of their life. Silent and non-polluting, it embodies a harmonious vision of urban mobility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An unexpected inheritance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite extensive testing (the prototypes reportedly covered over a million kilometres!), the Citela was never released for sale. Too far ahead of its time? Undoubtedly. But its legacy was not in vain. The powertrain developed for this concept served as the basis for the PSA Group\u2019s first production electric cars: the Citro\u00ebn AX and Peugeot 106 \u00c9lectrique. A pilot project was even planned in La Rochelle, which could have become the first city in the world with a network of public charging points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Citela in miniature: a collaboration between passionate collectors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We have pooled the documentation on the model and done some extra research. Not easy... Peter has done a lot of modelling for the interior and the layout using the bodywork elements I had modelled. We'll let you appreciate the result. Head over to the website of Marpytoys<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Citela
Photo credit: Marpytoys<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Citela
Photo credit: Marpytoys<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pr\u00e9ambule L’histoire de l’automobile est jalonn\u00e9e de projets audacieux, de visions futuristes qui, parfois, ne voient jamais le jour. La Citro\u00ebn Citela en fait partie. J’avais eu il y a d\u00e9j\u00e0 pas mal de temps l’envie de lui redonner vie, \u00e0 ma mani\u00e8re, au 1\/43\u00e8me. J’ai r\u00e9alis\u00e9 un exemplaire de test, et puis je suis […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1121,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vehicules"],"yoast_head":"\nCitro\u00ebn Citela : un projet automobile audacieux - garage143.fr<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Plongez dans l'univers de la Citro\u00ebn Citela, un projet unique qui revit gr\u00e2ce \u00e0 la passion des collectionneurs de miniatures.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/en\/citroen-citela-the-modular-electric-revolution\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Citro\u00ebn Citela : un projet automobile audacieux - garage143.fr\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Plongez dans l'univers de la Citro\u00ebn Citela, un projet unique qui revit gr\u00e2ce \u00e0 la passion des collectionneurs de miniatures.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/en\/citroen-citela-the-modular-electric-revolution\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"garage143.fr\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-01T16:09:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-09T15:17:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/citela_1992.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1536\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"R\u00e9mi Martin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"R\u00e9mi Martin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/garage143.fr\\\/citroen-citela-la-revolution-electrique-modulaire\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/garage143.fr\\\/citroen-citela-la-revolution-electrique-modulaire\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"R\u00e9mi Martin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/garage143.fr\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c9e8b984be1947a01a68974f7bd2abb2\"},\"headline\":\"Citro\u00ebn Citela : la r\u00e9volution \u00e9lectrique modulaire\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-01T16:09:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-09T15:17:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/garage143.fr\\\/citroen-citela-la-revolution-electrique-modulaire\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":621,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/garage143.fr\\\/citroen-citela-la-revolution-electrique-modulaire\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/garage143.fr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/citela_1992.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"V\u00e9hicules\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/garage143.fr\\\/citroen-citela-la-revolution-electrique-modulaire\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/garage143.fr\\\/citroen-citela-la-revolution-electrique-modulaire\\\/\",\"name\":\"Citro\u00ebn Citela : un projet automobile audacieux - garage143.fr\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/garage143.fr\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/garage143.fr\\\/citroen-citela-la-revolution-electrique-modulaire\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/garage143.fr\\\/citroen-citela-la-revolution-electrique-modulaire\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/garage143.fr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/citela_1992.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-01T16:09:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-09T15:17:39+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/garage143.fr\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c9e8b984be1947a01a68974f7bd2abb2\"},\"description\":\"Plongez dans l'univers de la Citro\u00ebn Citela, un projet unique qui revit gr\u00e2ce \u00e0 la passion des collectionneurs de miniatures.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/garage143.fr\\\/citroen-citela-la-revolution-electrique-modulaire\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/garage143.fr\\\/citroen-citela-la-revolution-electrique-modulaire\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/garage143.fr\\\/citroen-citela-la-revolution-electrique-modulaire\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/garage143.fr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/citela_1992.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/garage143.fr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/citela_1992.jpeg\",\"width\":2048,\"height\":1536},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/garage143.fr\\\/citroen-citela-la-revolution-electrique-modulaire\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Accueil\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/garage143.fr\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Citro\u00ebn Citela : la r\u00e9volution \u00e9lectrique modulaire\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/garage143.fr\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/garage143.fr\\\/\",\"name\":\"Miniatures et dioramas automobiles exceptionnels\",\"description\":\"Cr\u00e9ation de mod\u00e8les et dioramas originaux\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/garage143.fr\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/garage143.fr\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c9e8b984be1947a01a68974f7bd2abb2\",\"name\":\"R\u00e9mi Martin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f505476036ada88858eb37fc81725ded26ba04d7ac535ff406797a328f8fe7f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f505476036ada88858eb37fc81725ded26ba04d7ac535ff406797a328f8fe7f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f505476036ada88858eb37fc81725ded26ba04d7ac535ff406797a328f8fe7f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"R\u00e9mi Martin\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/garage143.fr\\\/en\\\/author\\\/remi74admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Citro\u00ebn Citela: a daring automotive project - garage143.fr","description":"Dive into the universe of the Citro\u00ebn Citela, a unique project that lives again thanks to the passion of miniature collectors.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/en\/citroen-citela-the-modular-electric-revolution\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Citro\u00ebn Citela : un projet automobile audacieux - garage143.fr","og_description":"Plongez dans l'univers de la Citro\u00ebn Citela, un projet unique qui revit gr\u00e2ce \u00e0 la passion des collectionneurs de miniatures.","og_url":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/en\/citroen-citela-the-modular-electric-revolution\/","og_site_name":"garage143.fr","article_published_time":"2026-02-01T16:09:40+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-09T15:17:39+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2048,"height":1536,"url":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/citela_1992.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"R\u00e9mi Martin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"R\u00e9mi Martin","Estimated reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/citroen-citela-la-revolution-electrique-modulaire\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/citroen-citela-la-revolution-electrique-modulaire\/"},"author":{"name":"R\u00e9mi Martin","@id":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/#\/schema\/person\/c9e8b984be1947a01a68974f7bd2abb2"},"headline":"Citro\u00ebn Citela : la r\u00e9volution \u00e9lectrique modulaire","datePublished":"2026-02-01T16:09:40+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-09T15:17:39+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/citroen-citela-la-revolution-electrique-modulaire\/"},"wordCount":621,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/citroen-citela-la-revolution-electrique-modulaire\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/citela_1992.jpeg","articleSection":["V\u00e9hicules"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/citroen-citela-la-revolution-electrique-modulaire\/","url":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/citroen-citela-la-revolution-electrique-modulaire\/","name":"Citro\u00ebn Citela: a daring automotive project - garage143.fr","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/citroen-citela-la-revolution-electrique-modulaire\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/citroen-citela-la-revolution-electrique-modulaire\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/citela_1992.jpeg","datePublished":"2026-02-01T16:09:40+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-09T15:17:39+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/#\/schema\/person\/c9e8b984be1947a01a68974f7bd2abb2"},"description":"Dive into the universe of the Citro\u00ebn Citela, a unique project that lives again thanks to the passion of miniature collectors.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/citroen-citela-la-revolution-electrique-modulaire\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/garage143.fr\/citroen-citela-la-revolution-electrique-modulaire\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/citroen-citela-la-revolution-electrique-modulaire\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/citela_1992.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/citela_1992.jpeg","width":2048,"height":1536},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/citroen-citela-la-revolution-electrique-modulaire\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Accueil","item":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Citro\u00ebn Citela : la r\u00e9volution \u00e9lectrique modulaire"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/#website","url":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/","name":"Exceptional scale model cars and dioramas","description":"Creation of original models and dioramas","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/#\/schema\/person\/c9e8b984be1947a01a68974f7bd2abb2","name":"R\u00e9mi Martin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f505476036ada88858eb37fc81725ded26ba04d7ac535ff406797a328f8fe7f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f505476036ada88858eb37fc81725ded26ba04d7ac535ff406797a328f8fe7f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f505476036ada88858eb37fc81725ded26ba04d7ac535ff406797a328f8fe7f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"R\u00e9mi Martin"},"url":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/en\/author\/remi74admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1116"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1161,"href":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1116\/revisions\/1161"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/garage143.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}