Mehari Orange

Mehari Orange, the orange of a plastic body

The peculiarity of this subject is that it was not actually painted. The color was contained directly in the material of the plastic body, which limited the palette to a few bold tones, and orange became the best known among them. Hence also the raw, almost signal character of the shade. The name therefore does not describe a paint but the material of the body itself.

What the Mehari was

The Citroën Mehari was built from the end of the 1960s for nearly two decades. It was a lightened utility and recreational vehicle built on the engineering of the Dyane line, that is with an air-cooled twin and softly sprung suspension. The body of molded plastic had practically nothing superfluous about it, and a folding windshield and a canvas roof made it a car for the beach, for the fields and for public service corps. In the second half of production a version with four-wheel drive was also made. The car was sold mainly in countries with a warm climate as a cheap substitute for off-road automobiles, and to this day it has a circle of enthusiasts who keep it running.

Where you will use the shade

• bodies of the Mehari and of similar light vehicles of open construction
• French civilian machinery of the 1970s and 1980s
• colorful accessories for a scene, from crates to garden equipment
• small machinery that a cheerful signal orange suits

Who it is for

For builders of civilian cars and of scenes where one vehicle is meant to carry the whole color of its surroundings while the rest of the scene stays in muted tones. The orange body was accompanied by dark fender flares and a canvas roof in a light tone, which bring the shade out further.