Citroën 2CV

The Citroën 2CV is a front-wheel-drive economy car produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1948 to 1990. Citroën chairman Pierre-Jules Boulanger initiated the design before the Second World War to motorize rural farmers. Unveiled at the 1948 Paris Motor Show, the four-door saloon offered basic, durable transportation across rural terrain.

The car used an air-cooled flat-twin engine mounted ahead of the front axle, driving the front wheels through a four-speed manual gearbox. Its interconnected coil-spring suspension gave the vehicle a smooth ride over unpaved farm tracks and ploughed fields. The body featured lightweight corrugated steel panels, a full-length rollback canvas sunroof, and removable tubular-frame bench seats that passengers could take out for picnics. Michelin owned Citroën at the time, and the vehicle was the first production automobile engineered around new radial tire technology.

Early examples delivered in 1949 generated 6.6 kW (9 hp) from a small 375 cc engine, achieving a top speed of 65 km/h (40 mph). Later models received larger power units, culminating in a 602 cc twin that produced 21 kW (29 hp) and reached 115 km/h (71 mph). Citroën expanded the lineup with the Fourgonnette panel van, which became a standard delivery vehicle for the French postal service. Waiting lists for new deliveries extended up to five years during the 1950s due to heavy commercial and agricultural demand.

In motorsport, the manufacturer organized desert endurance events including the 1970 Paris to Kabul marathon and created the popular 2CV Cross off-road racing series. The car gained global screen recognition in the 1981 James Bond adventure For Your Eyes Only, prompting the company to release a yellow 007 special edition complete with decorative bullet-hole decals. Assembly took place across facilities in France, Belgium, and Spain before the final example rolled off the production line in Mangualde, Portugal, on July 27, 1990, concluding a build run exceeding 5.1 million units.