HISTORY OF THE 2CV
History of the 2CV
The Citroen 2CV is undoubtedly one of the best designed and engineered cars in the world. The original concept started before the war in the 1930s and the car remained in production from 1949 until 1990, with millions of 2CVs and its many derivatives being produced all over the world.
Unfortunately the 2CV is thought of by some people as a slow, ugly, badly-built heap of rubbish, driven solely by bearded lefties and hippies. Well if you're one of those people then I’m afraid you're quite clearly a complete idiot - as in design terms it simply was, and still is, one of the most revolutionary cars in the world. The 2CV has come to be an icon of automotive history and has over the past 58 years affected the lives of countless millions of people and will continue to do so for many years to come.
The story started back in 1935 when the then managing director of Citroen, Pierre-Jules Boulanger, was driving through a French village when he became stuck amongst a village fete. And while he sat in his car surrounded by horse drawn carriages and carts, but not a single motorcar, he had a fantastic idea. Motorcars at the time were large, heavy and expensive things - far out of reach for the average French farmer who needed to take his produce to market on Saturday, and his family to church on Sunday. So on return to the Citroen factory Boulanger instructed his design office to “Design me a car to carry two people and fifty kilos of potatoes at 60km/h, using no more than three litres of fuel every 100km. It must be capable of running on the worst of roads, of being driven by a debutante, and must be totally comfortable. It’s price must be less than a third of the 11cv Traction Avant”, and so they did.
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Citroen soon set about building a prototype in complete secrecy, codenamed TPV (toute petite voiture) and by 1939 over 250 models had been built ready for release at the 1939 Paris motor show. The car was made mostly from lightweight alloys, having a magnesium chassis and wheels with a canvas body stretched over a frame. The seats were merely hammocks suspended from the roof, and a very unique suspension system (typical of Citroen) had been designed that was linked front to rear, and also connected to the brakes to avoid diving whilst braking.
The car was never displayed at the 1939 Paris motor show, and hearing that Hitler was on the look out for a simple car that could be mass produced for the German market, Boulanger ordered the destruction of all the prototypes. But fortunately a few were hidden away in the roof of a barn and rediscovered in the mid 1990s.
Once France had been liberated the TPV project continued, but the rigours of war had taken it’s toll. Raw materials were now scarce and expensive and the original prototype would be too expensive to produce with it’s many light alloys.
The car was then completely redesigned piece by piece, steel replaced the alloy and cost was given priority over weight. In 1944 Walter Becchia redesigned the engine - taking him only six days he designed a 375cc air cooled flat twin engine, perfect in every way. The famous Italian designer Bertoni redesigned the body work, without a single panel, corner or curve out of place, so the 2CV shares it’s good looks with many other Bertoni-styled cars, including Astons and Ferraris!
On the 7th of October 1948 the 2CV was unveiled to the public. Over 1,300,000 visitors saw the 2CV at the 35th Paris motor show, but it would be another year before it was available for sale. Once in production a six-year waiting list quickly developed, with doctors’, teachers’ and farmers’ orders given priority, and confirmed orders started to sell at a premium.
By 1951 a 2CV van was introduced called the AU, undoubtedly the best looking commercial vehicle in the world. Over the next 42 years the 2CV design was developed into many other derivatives. With the body removed it is possible to see the expertly-engineered chassis of the 2CV. Using a ladder chassis constructed from sheet steel, with the suspension mounted horizontally, it gives a flat platform onto which almost any body shape can be attached. The engine, gearbox and steering operated as one integrated unit that simply fixes onto the chassis with six bolts.
One of the first modifications Citroen made was the 2CV Safari. Although it looks almost identical to a normal 2CV it is quite different underneath, as not only does it have an engine in the front, it has another one in the boot giving the car four wheel drive and double the power. The two engines/gearboxes could either operate together or separately so drive could be through the front wheels, the back, or all four.
The Mehari is basically a 2CV jeep, made from self coloured vacuum-formed ABS plastic (the same material as modern car bumpers!). It was a very robust and practical vehicle and came with endless options - 2 seats, 4 seats, full roof, half roof, no roof, and even four wheel drive.
The Ami 6 was introduced in 1961 as a very comfortable 4-door saloon. It is undoubtedly French in every way and, despite poor selling figures abroad, the French adored it and it became one of the fastest selling cars in France. Other models were introduced such as an estate, a brake van and a very stylish coupe with a 995cc rotary engine, this sadly didn’t go into full production.
By the mid 1960s Citroen tried to update the
2CV and replace it with the Dyane. Similar to the 2CV in most respects but more refined, it had a proper hatch back and wind down windows and a slightly more powerful engine. Introduced in 1967, and also available as a van, initial sales were good. But despite it’s good looks, it was no competition for the 2CV and by 1983 production had ceased.
On the 27th July 1990 production of the 2CV ended. The last car was a two-tone grey
Charleston made at the Mangualde plant in Portugal. In its 42 years, over 7 million 2CV-derived vehicles were built - cars, vans, pick-ups, Amis, Dyanes, Bijous, Meharis, Acadianes and many more. Even today enough parts are still produced that if desired a brand new 2CV could be constructed.
The 2CV is simply a design icon.
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