World Premiere: The Italian Job goes to Eden as Citroën takes giant steps towards a greener future

MAY 8, 2008

The classic car chase from The Italian Job meets the Eden Project in an exciting new mini-movie starring three Citroëns, a grand staircase, one stunned gardener and more than a million plants.

While the original 1960s version had a trio of Minis in red, white and blue, Eden’s 30-second homage to the film’s celebrated chase features three nippy Citroën C1s in similar colours.

The French manufacturer’s most eco-friendly model will be one of the stars of The Co-operative Insurance Eden Sexy Green Car show in the shadow of the world famous Biomes from May 22-31.

Based in a former china clay quarry, Eden is usually a car-free zone but in the new film the C1s snake down to the bottom of the pit in a series of spectacular turns including a descent of the Grand Staircase towards the stage area where the show will be held.

The show’s director, Eden’s Gus Grand, said: “When we decided to do this cheeky mini-movie to kick-start The Co-operative Insurance Eden Sexy Green Car Show in style, Citroën’s C1 was an obvious vehicle of choice. We’re just glad we didn’t blow any doors off!

“Instead of a plan to steal gold, the theme of our film is how the C1s are zipping down to the Eden stage to try to get a peek at the other sexy green motors on show. This is low-emission movie making with a very light tyre print.”

With a choice of nippy 1.0i petrol or 1.4HDi engines, the C1 boasts ultra-low CO2 emissions of just 109 g/km and is one of the most economical cars on the road, with up to 68.9 miles per gallon for the diesel and 61.4mpg for the petrol.

The C1 will take pride of place at the car show alongside Citroën’s C2 VTS HDi and the Grand C4 Picasso – two more models that demonstrate the company’s commitment to producing stylish and practical vehicles that deliver excellent fuel economy as well as solid green credentials.

The C2 VTS HDi proves that cars can be both high performers and ecological, with the diesel’s punchy 1.6HDi engine offering a frugal 64 mpg and low CO2 emissions of 119g/km.

Citroën’s multi award-winning Grand C4 Picasso demonstrates that a large family car can also be a clean one. The spacious seven-seater’s ultra efficient 1.6HDi DPFS engine emits just 150g/km of CO2 and with its intelligent Electronic Gearbox System (EGS), fuel economy is optimised at 49.6mpg.

To watch The Italian Job goes French at Eden go to www.edenproject.com.