2CV
November 4th, 2011 by NZ Classic Car
Well it worked out for Fiat with its new 500/Bambina so Citroën is looking seriously at jumping on the retro-sytle bandwagon and bringing back its 2CV.
According to recent reports the French carmaker is making plans to design and develop a modern version of the iconic 2CV. It isn’t expected until 2013 at the earliest and at this stage it is a top secret project. What is known is that the 3CV will inherit the spirit of its ancestor and offer plenty of space and a comfortable ride.
If the 3CV goes ahead it will likely be built on the same PF1 platform that supports the Peugeot 207 and Citroëns DS3 and C3. But it will be smaller than the C3.
More will be revealed next year.
July 26th, 2011 by NZ Classic Car
A massive record-breaking global gathering of Citroën 2CVs is set to take place this weekend in France at the 19th International ‘Amis de la 2CV’. The special event expected to attract over 6,000 examples of the iconic Citroën model.
Held once every two years, the meeting attracts participants from all over the world who come together to celebrate one of Citroën’s longest-running success stories. The 2011 event, involving many of Europe’s 2CV owner’s clubs, is expected to be the largest to date. The meeting will take place in a 60-hectare site near Salbris in Central France. Special displays will include four pre-war prototype 2CVs and the contemporary Citroën REVOLTe concept car.
Originally developed in the 1930s, most of the 250 prototype 2CVs were destroyed before war – with the exception of three, which were hidden to stop them falling into enemy hands. The fourth was stored by Michelin. The 2CV was finally unveiled at the 1948 Paris Motor Show, before going on to enjoy a fantastic career with 5,114,940 units sold between 1948 and 1990. Read the rest of this entry »
February 25th, 2010 by NZ Classic Car
Mention Citroën to any one under 25 and their most likely response will be that it makes the best rally cars in the world — they are currently dominating the World Rally Championship series with their acrobatic French driver, Sebastien Loeb
Part of the vast French PSA group, Citroën was forced to take a back seat to Peugeot, which ruled world rallying with its 4WD 205 and 206 models.
When Citroen built a FWD rally car that actually managed to beat the established 4WD stars on tarmac WRC events, PSA was forced to take Citroën’s rally team seriously — with these results, what could it do with 4WD?
Reluctantly the go-ahead was given, and Citroën proceeded to sweep all before it to become the undoubted star of rallying today.
But although rallying’s the association younger people make with the Citroën name, the response likely from older people is that the French company has always made weird, complicated cars for old men and architects. Yet Citroën probably makes more money from conventional cars than it does out of the hydropneumatic wonders which made it famous.
January 26th, 2010 by NZ Classic Car
After visiting John and Carolyn Brough last year to celebrate 60 years of the Citroën 2CV with their 2CV Sahara, we couldn’t wait to go back for a better look at the rest of their collection. Fifteen Citroëns and a lone Maserati make a very impressive shed-full
The Broughs’ car-owning career is long and varied. Carolyn all but wrote off their first car, a brand new Fiat 500. Soon after it was repaired John rang her to announce they were the proud owners of a 1927 Austin 12/4. They covered a lot of kilometres in the Austin and still owned it when they were able to afford something more modern. They went from one extreme to another — from the staid, upright Austin to a Sunbeam Tiger.
The Sunbeam was their daily car, and Carolyn told me a delightful story of how they once towed the Austin to Wellington with her driving the Tiger and John steering the Austin. The Tiger was handling the job so well that she forgot about the Austin when they were descending the Ngauranga Gorge, a very different road to the present one, and a pale, shaking John Brough emerged from the Austin at the bottom of the Gorge.
The Austin went to Carolyn’s brother for university transport and later the Sunbeam was sold. They can’t remember why, but it may have been a temporary cash flow problem, and it’s a car they regret selling.
Read the rest of this entry »December 19th, 2009 by NZ Classic Car
A celebration of 90 years of Citroen
October 28th, 2009 by NZ Classic Car
Celebrating the 60th anniversary ¨of Citroën’s lovable 2CV
If nicknames are a sign of affection, the Citroën 2CV is the best-loved car in the world. The French called it Dedeuche; the Belgians named it the ‘goat.’ In the Netherlands and Germany it was the ‘duck’ while the English term of endearment was ‘tin snail.’ To the Danes it was the ‘student’s Jaguar’ — it seems that the little Citroën was called almost anything but 2CV.
We’ve all heard the 2CV was designed to carry a basket of eggs across a ploughed field without breaking any of the eggs. In fact Pierre-Jules Boulanger, the managing director of Citroën, told his chief engineer, Maurice Broglie, to design a ‘motorised pony cart’ for people who had no driving or mechanical experience.
Boulanger wanted ‘four wheels under an umbrella’ to carry two peasants plus 50kg of farm produce at 50kph without using more than 3l/100km of petrol. It had to move its passengers in comfort without breaking one egg in that famous basket. Moreover, its price had to be one third of a Traction Avant’s. Broglie told his boss it was the most unreasonable specification he had ever been given.
Read the rest of this entry »October 9th, 2009 by NZ Classic Car
Citroën held a special evening of fun-filled, French-themed entertainment at the Ace Cafe in London, U.K last weekend as part of the Company’s 90th anniversary celebrations. Around 200 Citroën owners, collectors and members of the public were in attendance with more than 60 models on display representing nine decades of Citroën history.
A competition, hosted by English TV personality Mike Brewer and special guest judge John Simister, was held to award the best presented car from each decade. The entrants included member vehicles from the Citroën Car Club, 2CV GB Owners Club, Citroën C4 Owners Club and the Traction Owners Club.
September 25th, 2009 by NZ Classic Car
For fans of Citroëns and ultra-rare classic cars, the 2009 Classic Motor Show in the UK will mark a British first thanks to a joint effort by the various Citroën car clubs attending, and Citroën UK.
Not content with bringing along one or even two prototype cars, the Citroën Car Club, the 2CVGB club and the Traction Owners Club will be showing four models – three of which have not been seen before on British soil – to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the marque. These amazing vehicles are being brought to the UK from Citroën’s Conservatoire in Paris especially for the show.
The oldest and perhaps most familiar is a restored 1936 Citroën TPV or 2CV prototype, with a profile, which will be instantly recognisable to anyone who has owned one of the famous twin-cylinder ‘tin snails’.
The same however, cannot be said of the 1956 C-10; a car nicknamed the ‘Coccinelle’ (or Beetle). This fantastically brave and futuristic teardrop design, which is thoroughly Dan Dare in its appearance, was designed to fit between the 2CV and the DS. Powered by a flat twin-cylinder engine, the C-10 featured hydro-pneumatic suspension and partial gullwing doors. It was axed in favour of a comparatively more conventional-looking car, the Ami 6.
Dating from the early sixties and looking like a blend of DS and Ami 6, the distinctive C-60 was again intended to fill the gap between the two models, as a fairly large car with a small engine to suit French taxation. It was abandoned due to spiraling development costs; the much later GS ultimately filled the gap in the range.
The final star making its debut is a prototype, which led to the creation of the Citroën CX as a replacement for the DS – 1971’s Project L. Drawing heavily from Pininfarina’s BLMC 1800 Aerodynamica proposal, the CX was the last Citroën to be styled by the great Robert Opron before he left the company.
The Classic Motor Show takes place on November 13-15 in Birmingham. Click here to find out more.
