CITROEN has gone back to the drawing board and taken a bold new approach to eco-friendly design with the C-Cactus concept car.

Although it is built on the Citroen C4 platform, it uses only around half the components of a conventional car and incorporates many recycled components.

It offers fuel economy of 97.4mpg, CO2emissions of 78g/km and a ZEV (Zero Emission Vehicle) mode whilst maximum speed is capped at 93mph.

Fitted with an ultra-clean Diesel Particulate Filter System, its hybrid HDi drivetrain combines a 70bhp HDi diesel engine with an electric motor that provides an additional 30bhp of power.

For urban driving, the ZEV mode provides silent, all-electric operation, and for journeys requiring successive acceleration and deceleration, the hybrid system limits fuel consumption by using both types of energy.

Engineers have streamlined the number of parts and mechanisms required, incorporated several functions into a single part and removed all features that are non-essential to the running of the car or to the comfort and safety of the occupants.

This is illustrated by the cabin, which consists of just over 200 parts, only around half that of a similarly-sized conventional car.

One of the first moves involved the removal of the dashboard, with the original functions and loudspeakers, gearbox controls and navigation system now grouped on the central console and Citroën's signature fixed centre controls steering wheel.

The ignition key also doubles up as an MP3 player.

The front bumper section, which includes the headlamps and trademark Citroen chevrons, also makes up the lower part of the rear tailgate.

The design of the car's front end consists of just two parts: the fixed bonnet comprising the front wings and a flap giving access to the vehicle maintenance functions.

The door panels are made of just two parts, compared to 12 in a conventional car.

Because the automatic air conditioning system virtually makes it unnecessary to open the windows, Citroën's engineers have removed the opening mechanisms and replaced them, instead, with simple sliding panes.

The front seats comprise just two parts: a comfortable, moulded, integral-skin foam part for the seat and a solid monoblock frame to hold the former in place and fix it to the floor rails.

Maximising the car's green credentials, the C-Cactus uses a significant number of recycled or recyclable materials.

The windscreen, windows and tyres are all recyclable, as are the steel door panels, that are unpainted but which have been treated for corrosion.

The 21inch wheels have been developed in conjunction with Michelin, the large-diameter and low-profile tyres help to reduce ground friction area, boost fuel efficiency and keep production costs down.

With similar dimensions to those of a family car, at 4.2m long and 1.8m wide, Citroën's C-Cactus has a generous-sized boot, offering up to 1,000 litres of load space.

The rear seats can slide up against the front seats while the floor pan, des forward to reveal a sub-floor that provides an almost flat surface for loading bulky objects.