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Taking centre stage on Citroen's stand this month at the Beijing Motor Show is this rather striking beast. It's called the DS 5LS R concept and it's powered by a rather powerful version of the company's 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine. It's tasked with mixing performance and comfort.

Exterior

The DS 5LS R follows in the tyre treads of the DS3 Cabrio Racing and DS4 Racing concepts, in trying to bring a bit more sportiness to the French firm's line-up. The 5LS R has a chunky lower body kit to help it stand out and is finished in anodised Carmine Red paint. There are 'R' badges on the front, back and sides of the DS, plus matt grey side stripes running vertically down the doors underneath the door mirrors. There's also carbon fibre trim all over the place and big 20-inch, carbon-coloured rims.

Interior

Leather and Alcantara abound inside, covering everything including the dashboard and steering wheel, plus there's distinctive DS 'watchstrap' upholstery, with contrast Carmine Red stitching to be seen in plenty of spots. R-badged dials and carbon fibre inserts on the steering wheel, door panels and door handles finish things off nicely.

Mechanicals

While its road car range is stylish enough, Citroen could do with injecting some of its enviable World Rally Championship pedigree into the mix to give it more of a performance edge. So, with that in mind, the DS 5LS R is powered by a 1.6-litre turbo engine that kicks out a whopping 304hp and 400Nm. The car has been dropped 15mm over the production version, as part of a raft of revisions to chassis, suspension and brakes, and the 5LS R has a wider track at the front plus a sequential gearbox with paddle shift.

Anything else?

Looks nice, doesn't it? And you're hoping it goes into production so you can consider buying one. Well, you'll need to move to China, then; the standard DS 5LS is only sold in the Asian country, so the R won't be coming here. Boooo!

Matt Robinson - 8 Apr 2014