Citroen and Pathe, Tresor Films and Editions Albert Rene have signed a new partnership with the upcoming movie Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom. The film is produced by Pathe, les Enfants Terribles with Tresor Films and directed by Guillaume Canet.
The film will be screened in theaters in France on February 1, 2023, and in Turkey on February 24, 2023. This partnership, unlike other Citroen partnerships; It includes designing and producing a concept car by the brand specifically for the needs of this movie.
Citroen's design teams were involved in this project from the very beginning. He designed and produced the car in 3 months. However, the drawing and production of a concept is usually completed in 1 year.
Citroen's 2CV becomes a "Concept War Car"
The Citroen 2CV is both a part of the French cultural heritage and one of the important iconic cars in automotive history. His silhouette is known all over the world. The “Concept Battle Car” from the movie Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom represents a reinterpretation of the 2CV and the Welsh lifestyle.
Citroen design teams reinterpreted the core values in the brand's DNA of comfort, technology and design and added special touches to the Asterix movie. Thus, a concept car emerged with suspensions made from boar stomachs, a sunroof, headlights inspired by Welsh helmets, headlights illuminated by fireflies powered by a magic potion, wheels made from recycled shields featuring the Citroen logo.
The scene where the heroes leave their village for China shows a team reuniting and embarking on a grand adventure. Before taking off, Cetautomatix presents the car to Obelix and demonstrates the innovations it has brought to the car to make their journey as smooth as possible.
The movie also features the first billboard promoting the best car of the era at the entrance of the country when Cesar's army arrives in China. This is the 2CV, an incredible war car pulled by 2 horses, produced in Gaul. It is also a subtle allusion to the famous Citroen commercial on the Great Wall of China. To emphasize the strength of this partnership, the new Citroen logo is also used, and to emphasize this, the wings of Asterix's helmet are used.
Citroen provided the team with a fleet of all-electric vehicles for the filming of Asterix. Fleet; It consisted of 3 vehicles: 4 e-C3s, 5 C2 Aircross PHEVs, 1 e-Spacetourers, 1 Ami and 10 e-Jumpy. Citroen also provided charging solutions for these vehicles at the attraction sites in Bry-sur-Marne and Bretigny-sur-Orge.
Sustainability was a key element throughout filming. The electric vehicle fleet provided by Citroen supported the Asterix team's decarbonisation efforts. The team worked with an agency that implemented special processes to reduce waste as much as possible. For example, costumes were recycled and used for other purposes. By recycling cardboard, 2 tons of wood was saved. In addition, all wooden crates were given to two city farms in the Ile-de-France region.
Citroën Global Design Director Pierre Leclercq evaluated the partnership; “The encounter of these two legends of French culture is extraordinary. From the very beginning, there has been an intimacy, intimacy and mutual respect between the Citroen and Asterix film crews. This partnership presented an incredible opportunity to design and build a concept car from the ground up. We had a great time working on this project. The result is also a tribute to the 2CV, the legendary car that represents Citroen.” said.
Yohann Stoll, Head of Brand Partnerships and Sponsorship at Pathe Films; “This is the first time we have shot a film with such an important fleet of electric vehicles in Pathe. Citroen assisted us in installing Toutelectix charging points in the colors of the Asterix movie. Of course, electric transportation took some getting used to for most of us. Based on the successful experience we have had, we are confident that we will repeat this solution in our future works”, evaluating the partnership.
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