(Mon 19 Apr 10)

Like most of the concept cars revealed so far this year, the Citroen Metropolis is a hybrid. Its running gear consists of a two-litre V6 petrol engine, an electric motor and a seven-speed dual-clutch semi-automatic gearbox, and its peak power output is an impressive 460bhp. Unlike most other concepts, it also uses Hydractive suspension, the sort of thing which has been a Citroen speciality for several decades.

The most unusual thing about the Metropolis, though, was it was created by a design team based in Shanghai, the city where it will also be officially unveiled in the French Pavilion of the World Fair which runs from May 1 to October 31.

Citroen says that the Metropolis reflects "the dynamism and ambition of China in the 21st century", and certainly it would have been unimaginable that China could have produced a high-performance luxury car, even in concept form, as recently as the 1970s. The car also demonstrates the increasing importance of the Chinese market, which is Citroen's largest outside Europe and where it has been represented for the last twenty years.

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