Citroen to Unveil ‘Flamboyant’ Metisse Concept at Paris Show

PARIS – Anyone who has ogled hotrods at the annual Woodward Dream Cruise outside of Detroit will appreciate Automobiles Citroen's C-Metisse concept car that will bow at the auto show here Sept. 28.

Citroen C-Metisse concept

It's a factory chopped and channeled dream machine.

While the overall size is like that of a Citroen C6 luxury car, it devotes half its length to a hood covering a hybrid powertrain with a 3.0L V-6 diesel and two electric motors.

There is not enough trunk room for golf clubs, maybe not even for a swimsuit.

The car is low, cut to the ground as a visual reminder that it goes 0-62 mph (100 km/h) in 6.2 seconds. The body is carbon fiber, and the full hybrid allows the car to travel in silent, electric mode.

Four passengers each have their own fancy door: gull wings up front and rear doors that swing up toward the back.

"It's the most flamboyant concept we've made," Citroen Chairman Claude Satinet says.

The name, Metisse, is a French word used to describe the child of a mixed-race couple. In France, it is not pejorative.

"A car is always a mixture of passion and reason," Satinet says.

Citroen also will introduce its C4 Picasso compact 7-seat minivan at the show, as well as the C4 WRC that it will race next year in the World Rally Championships.