Paris 2006: Full details on the Citroen C-Metisse

Alex Nunez — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 14:06:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Coupe, Sedan, Europe, Paris Motor Show

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The biennial Paris Motor Show brings out the best in the French automakers, whose displays are understandably massive, and whose concepts battle it out with each other to see who the star of the show really is. Peugeot has gotten the first shot in with its menacing 908 RC sedan, powered by the company's 750-hp Le Mans V12 diesel.

Today, Peugeot's corporate sister, Citroën, shows off her Paris concept: the smashing C-Métisse 4-door coupe. The car is drenched with style and has the presence of an exotic with its front gullwing and rear scissor doors. In front, the Citroën badge extends out to the large, styled vertical headlamps, which are themselves flanked by significant intakes. A trapezoidal opening sits in the lower part of the front fascia.

The long, sleek body houses an ultramodern passenger cabin, with seats covered in white leather and many of the car's key controls housed on the steering wheel. Citroën moved some controls -- including the starter button -- with the intention of creating an aircraft-like feel. The center console also continues the modern design theme. It is a source of ambient lighting and also houses the screens that let the driver to monitor the car's hybrid drivetrain.

The Hybride HDi system consists of a 208-horsepower diesel V6 driving the front wheels, and a pair of electric motors -- each putting out 20 horsepower and 300 lb-ft of torque powering the rear. In urban environments, the car can operate in zero-emissions mode, running on the electric motors only at speeds up to 30 km/h. In addition to that, the car switches between 2-wheel-drive and 4-wheel-drive automatically depending on traction conditions.

Citroën says that the hybrid powertrain train helps the car achieve a fuel economy rating of an impressive 36.1 miles per gallon in the combined cycle. No slowpoke either, the C-Métisse also makes the run to 100km/h (62 mph) in 6.5 seconds.

If the future of motoring looks something like the C-Métisse, we welcome it with open arms. Complete details, full technical specifications, and a photo gallery can be found after the jump.

[Source: Citroën]

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Paris 2006: Full details on the Citroen C-Metisse originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 06 Sep 2006 14:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Paris Preview: Citroen planning C-M�tisse hybrid-diesel concept

Stuart Waterman — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 16:04:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Performance, Paris Motor Show

You can count on French automakers to pull out all the stops for the Paris Motor Show, and it looks like Citroen certainly has something special planned, if this teaser image of a new four-door GT concept car is any indication.

The "C-Métisse" (literally, "cross-breed" or "hybrid") design study is a diesel-electric hybrid, with a V6 HDi augmented by twin electric motors. Stretching over 15 feet in length, and massing a solid 3080 pounds, the C-Métisse is definitely more of a highway cruiser than a sports car, but nonetheless the scissor-door concept is said to make the 0-60 mph sprint in only six seconds.

[Source: Carscoop]

Paris Preview: Citroen planning C-M�tisse hybrid-diesel concept originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 05 Sep 2006 16:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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