Citroen C-Metisse by Norev

Part one.

The Citroen C-Metisse is a concept car introduced at the Paris Motorshow in 2006. It set the new trend in the concept car genre. It’s striking looks on the outside were accompanied with an equally astonishing interior.

In the mechanical section the attention was grabbed by a hybrid power by a combination of a diesel engine and two electric motors. The engine is a 2.7 l V6 with 208 hp. It drives the front wheels only. Each of the back wheels meanwhile has it’s own electric motor producing 20 hp.

Sadly this stunning car will never see mass production and we won’t be able to marvel at it’s gorgeous looks in person. Well, at least most of us.

This is were Norev stepped in with their 1:18 scale representation of the car. The model will be the only touch with the C-Metisse for many and it has big shoes to fill.

I’ll be straight up with you. It does get the job done. Very, very well. There are a few things to want but the overall result is great.

Let’s prove our statement with some more in-depth look at the model. First the exterior.

The model is looking very sharp. It is available only in one color – dark red, matching the color of the 1:1 car. The quality of the paint is great, the shade, overall color and covering is also done very well. Some models do suffer from slight orange peel though but you’ll have to actively look for it.

The C-Metisse is quite a challenging car design wise. It’s shapes and curves must have been a real pain in the you-know-what for Norev. I’m happy to tell that the company has managed to craft the model and capture all of the features of the car very well.

The front headlights are well and match the original ones closely. There are some great chromed lines on the bonnet and along the bottom of the doors. The rear bumper and side trim on the back are also nicely done along with the taillights. Norev have done a great job with the curved back window too.

The wheels are nice and big with great detail and feature branded tires by Michelin which is a relatively rare sight in the diecast world. The thread on the tires is also very well made and copies the one of the real car.

There are negatives too though. The brake disks don’t rotate with the wheels. Well they are free and can rotate but don’t. It’s a little weird. The big issue (if we can call it like that) is that the brake calipers on the front wheels are in the wrong place.

On the real car they are on the left side of the wheel and on the model they are on the right. It’s not that big of an issue but it could be irritating for those who want their models to be as accurate as possible.

All four doors are opening and they mimic the stance of the real car very well. The back ones open with a button on the underside of the model and then are twisted by hand into position. The spring is quite powerful so it can scare you the first time you click the button that the doors will fly off. They won’t so don’t be scared 🙂

Expect a second part.
I want to thank you for your time and for visiting us. We hope you had as much fun as we did.