Britain took a while to catch on
Following its introduction at the 1948 Paris Motor Show, the 2CV stayed in production until 1990, and was built in many different countries – including at Slough in England in the ’50s. It didn’t sell well in the UK then, and was discontinued here until the fuel crisis of the ’70s, when it was reintroduced. This time things were different: the British fell in love with the 2CV – a cheap, fun car in bright colours that used very little fuel. Ironically, after ignoring it for its first 25 years, Britain became one of the most important markets for the 2CV. It took us a long time to catch on!
Many variants, one idea
During its long production run the 2CV came in many variants, including the 2CV Van and the 4×4 2CV Sahara – complete with TWO engines, one at the front and one at the back! The Bijou was also built at Slough: a plastic-bodied car on 2CV mechanics, but with a very different body shell. It too met with little success, and production at Slough ended.
It hardly changed at all
The original “ripple bonnet” gave way to the “modern” design early in the ’60s, and the canvas boot only lasted a few years before a metal boot lid took over. The early wipers, driven by the speedometer cable, became electric, and the dipstick in the fuel filler was replaced by a proper fuel gauge. Early 2CVs had only four side windows, with rear quarter lights added later – but in the overall scheme of things the design hardly changed at all!
Under the bonnet
Mechanically, the earliest cars’ 375cc engine was upgraded to 425cc relatively quickly, followed by a 435cc engine, and a 602cc version first surfaced in 1968. The 602cc engine keeps up with modern traffic in most circumstances, even on motorways – with a top speed pretty well spot on the legal limit!
Special editions and “new pretenders”
In the later years many special editions were produced, with the Charleston and Dolly proving such a success that they became permanent fixtures on the price list. Citroën tried several times to “modernise” the 2CV, notably with the Ami and Dyane – both built on 2CV chassis and running gear. But the original concept was so good that the 2CV outlived those new pretenders by many years. If it were still in production today there’d still be good demand for it – and that’s where The 2CV Shop comes in!