Shanghai Preview: Citroën Metropolis concept is a bit of a stretch

Few carmaking nations manage to straddle the extremes of the market quite like the French. At one end, we've got the Bugatti Veyron (yes, we know it's owned by a German, but go with us for a minute here), and at the other, an array of diminutive budget hatchbacks. There's little to bridge the gap, but that's not because the country's automakers aren't trying. And here's the latest.

Called the Metropolis, the latest Citroën is aptly named because it's about the size of a city block. At 5.3 meters (17.4 feet) long and 2 meters (6.5 feet) wide, it's longer than a long-wheelbase Mercedes S-Class and wider than a Maybach. And those are some freakin' big cars.

Alright, so this is a limousine, then. What's under the hood? Given that it's coming from PSA – which has been shoehorning hybrid systems into its show cars for years now – you're right to assume this is a hybrid as well. It's got a 2.0-liter V6 under the hood mated to an electric motor that together can vary its combined output from 272 horsepower all the way up to 460, driving all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox.

So who's this for? Well it's not going to market just yet, but take notice that it's set for debut at the Shanghai Expo next month, which crucially follows the Beijing Motor Show this week where BMW is unveiling its long-wheelbase 5 Series, Audi the new A8 L and Volkswagen its updated Phaeton. So fa,r we've only got these preliminary details and small batch of photos, but you can check 'em out in the gallery below and we'll update you when more becomes available. Thanks for the tip, VLM!

[Source: Autocar via autosblog.fr]