The History of the 2CV
A brief history in three pages
Pierre Boulanger, the father of the 2CV, set a brief to his Chief Engineer, Maurice Broglie, for a new car to be codenamed "Becassine" (snipe) to be an "umbrella on wheels" to carry two farmers, along with 50kg. of potatoes or a small barrel of wine at a maximum speed of 60 km/hr. It must travel in good comfort over rough rural roads. Economy was to be a priority - less than 3 litres of petrol was to be used to cover 100 km., and the car must cost less than one third of the then current Traction Avant. Boulanger despatched Jacques Duclos to research the need for the product - in all over 10,000 people of all walks of life were interviewed. Before Duclos returned from his five month task the project had already been named TPV or Toute Petite Voiture and was well underway.
Pierre Boulanger
Andre Lefebvre was in charge of a team including Flaminio Bertone and Jean Muratet, in charge of styling and bodywork, Alphonse Forceau was in charge of gearboxes and suspension, Marcel Chinin supervised mechanical co-ordination, and Roger Prud`homme was the Head of Experimental Design. The plan was initially for a chassis-less, front wheel drive car weighing less than 300kg. They decided to borrow corrugated panels from the Junkers JU52 aircraft to save weight.
By 1936, a fullsize wooden mock-up had been made. Boulanger was tall, and was unhappy with the headroom. He ruled that the car should be modified to allow him to drive wearing a hat. A first prototype appeared early in 1937. The body was aluminium for lightness, wheels were magnesium, the windows made of mica. Hammock- like seats were suspended from the roof by cables. Since the new engine had not been tested, a BMW 500 cc. motorcycle engine was used instead, the kickstart being operated by the starting handle.
By the end of 1937, 20 prototypes had been produced. Secrecy was important to the project, and cars were tested at Bois de Meudon, near Paris. An old chateux at La Ferte-Vidame, east of Paris, had the grounds converted to a 2.5km. test track. In the same year, Pierre Michelin died in a car crash. Boulanger discovered some of the staff were working secretly on a "rebel" vehicle - it was not heard of again. The TPV was now fitted with a 375cc. flat twin engine designed by Maurice Sainturat. The body was still mainly aluminium, but the use of this material caused severe construction problems. Other problems were also showing themselves, but Boulanger still intended to show the car at the 1939 Paris Salon. In May he ordered 250 cars to be built at the factory in Levallois. The car was not developed on time, and only one car emerged on 2nd September 1939. The following day at 11am., war was declared. The remaining 249 cars were in various stages of construction.
The first prototype
With the occupation of France, Boulanger was concerned the project would fall into the hands of the Germans. He ordered the remaining cars to be destroyed. However, development continued in secret and some prototypes survived. The aluminium body was finally shelved in favour of light guage steel. The innovative suspension for which Boulanger defined a specification to enable the car to carry a basket of eggs without breakage across a ploughed field was developed, electric start was added, a single headlight was deemed sufficient initially bit was later given a partner, and a heating system was added. The car was still too heavy, and mich development was needed to further reduce weight. Boulanger wanted the car unveiled at the 1948 Paris Salon, in the autumn, as it indeed was. It was initially only available in one colour, metallic grey. So began a production run which would continue until 1990. The car was to be called the 2cv - two horses. In some peoples view a replacement for the two horse drawn rural trap, but more correctly the empirical French horsepower rating of that time. In fact the first cars were 9hp.
The pre-production prototype
So, on the 7th October 1948, at the 35th Salon de l`Automobile, after a gestation period of 13 years, the 2cv was born. The press and public found the car very strange but irresistable. The car was however accepted as being well needed in austere post-war France, and when production started in earnest in 1949, demand was very heavy. Citroen had cornered a niche market, a market that other manufacturers did not know existed. The car was very comfortable, it could be driven up and down steps at 20mph, across ploughed fields. It rapidly became part of the fabric of French life. Farmers and country dwellers were the primary market, but town dwellers were also desperate to buy 2cvs. Demand exceeded supply. In 1949 only 924 cars were made but this rose to over 6000 the next year.
Ripple bonnet 2CV of the sixties
In 1953 the car was given an ignition key rather than cable pull start, and door locks. The colour was chaged to a darker grey, with yellow eheels. It was imported into Switzerland in 1952. The Swiss loved the secure handling of the 2cv on their mountain passes, they noted also the enormous roll of the 2cv which was to be a feature due to soft suspension for the rest of its life. The car was first produced in the English Citroen factory at Slough in 1952. Although modified for the British market by the addition of semaphore indicators and other refinements, the car met a mixed reception in the UK. It was quite unlike contemporary British cars, with an emphasis on comfort rather than speed. It was also relatively expensive. However, it was gradually accepted in the UK and sold in limited numbers.
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