2006 Citroën C-Métisse Concept

Story Cars
2 hours ago
3 min read

The 2006 Citroën C-Métisse was one of Citroën’s most dramatic modern concept cars: a low, wide, four-door grand tourer with a diesel-hybrid drivetrain and four upward-opening doors. It debuted at the 2006 Paris Motor Show and was designed to show that a hybrid did not have to look slow, awkward, or purely economy-focused.

The shape was the first thing that made it impossible to ignore. The C-Métisse was 4,740 mm long, 2,000 mm wide, and only 1,240 mm tall, giving it the stance of a concept super-GT rather than a normal sedan. The long hood, rear-set cabin, vertical rear treatment, and huge wheels made it look stretched and planted. It was not subtle, but it was not random either. Citroën was using the car to mix grand touring proportions with experimental hybrid packaging.

The drivetrain was the real story. Up front, the C-Métisse used a V6 HDi diesel engine producing 208 bhp, paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission. That engine drove the front wheels. At the rear, two electric motors were mounted in the rear wheels, each producing 20 bhp and up to 400 Nm of torque. Together, the system gave the car four-wheel-drive capability without a conventional mechanical driveshaft running to the rear axle.

That layout mattered because it made the C-Métisse more than a styling model. It could run on electric power alone at low speeds, use the diesel engine for front-wheel drive, or bring in the rear electric motors for traction and acceleration. Under hard acceleration, an overboost function delivered extra electric torque, helping the concept reach 0–100 km/h in 6.2 seconds. For a 2006 diesel hybrid concept, that was genuinely quick.

Citroën also claimed strong efficiency for the performance level. The C-Métisse was rated at 6.5 L/100 km with CO2 emissions of 174 g/km. Those numbers were part of the point: Citroën wanted to show that hybrid technology could support performance and long-distance comfort, not just urban fuel saving. This was before diesel hybrids briefly became a real production experiment in Europe, so the concept was ahead of the mainstream conversation.

The body construction helped the performance case. The C-Métisse used carbon-fiber bodywork and weighed about 1,400 kg, including the batteries. That was relatively light for a large four-seat concept with a hybrid drivetrain. The batteries were mounted under the cabin floor, keeping weight low and helping preserve the car’s long, clean proportions.

The doors were pure show-car theater. All four opened upward, with the rear doors hinged in the opposite direction from the fronts. That gave the C-Métisse one of the most memorable door layouts of any Citroën concept from the 2000s. It looked dramatic, but it also helped expose the cabin layout clearly on the show stand.

Inside, Citroën leaned fully into the future-car theme. The cabin had a high central tunnel, individual seating, and illuminated strips that visually communicated activity from the hybrid system. It was not just decoration. Citroën wanted the driver and passengers to feel connected to what the drivetrain was doing, which was unusual at a time when most hybrids tried to hide their complexity.

The C-Métisse never went into production, and it was probably never meant to. But it did preview ideas that became more important later: electrified rear axles, hybrid all-wheel drive, low-mounted battery packaging, and performance hybrids that sold emotion instead of guilt. It was not a practical Citroën. It was Citroën showing that efficiency could still have presence, speed, and a little madness.