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For its latest entrant in the Chinese marketplace, Citroën tapped its corporate sister for a little hand. The Chinese Citroën C2, you see, is is built on the Peugeot 206 platform. The 206 bloodlines show: notice that the C2 China's hood is vented in the exact same spots as the 206. While it's badged a C2, it has nothing in common with the European-market car whose name it shares.

Despite its ties to the older Peugeot, this C2 is still a stylish automobile. A five-door hatchback, it wears a slightly upturned variation of the C4-C5-C6 grille, with its open "wings" angling up into the headlamps. That, combined with the larger opening below the bumper, gives the face a meaner, more purposeful look than its Euro cousins. Two gasoline engines will be offered -- the 1.4i (75hp) and the 1.6i 16V (106 hp). The 1.4i will be available only with a 5-speed manual, while buyers of the 1.6i can opt for a 4-speed automatic.

The base SX trim offers a good level of standard equipment, with the EX adding goodies like leather and an optional power sunroof. Oddly, the SX trim only features power windows up front. backseaters must make do with cranks. Customers who want to have power windows all around must select the better-optioned EX. How weird is that?

This C2 joins an eclectic lineup of Citroëns in China, ranging from the unbelievably dated and excellently-named Fukang to the modern C-Triomphe. It'll be in dealerships at the end of 2006, and Citroën hopes the car will leave them at a brisk pace -- the plan is to locally build as many as 40,000 of them a year once they hit the market.

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(Additional Photos, Press Release after the jump)

[Source: Citroën}