{"id":494269,"date":"2015-02-01T13:36:36","date_gmt":"2015-02-01T21:36:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/demo.sportscardigest.com\/?p=4966"},"modified":"2024-09-06T17:37:31","modified_gmt":"2024-09-06T17:37:31","slug":"1972-citroen-2cv6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/1972-citroen-2cv6\/","title":{"rendered":"1972 Citro\u00ebn 2CV6"},"content":{"rendered":"

In convoy with a Ferrari 365 GT 2+2, no one seemed to notice the intensely red Ferrari. Instead, fingers pointed and all heads followed the little blue Citro\u00ebn 2CV, or \u201cDuex Chevaux\u201d as it is popularly known. This \u201cTout Petite Voiture,\u201d TPV or \u201cvery small car,\u201d came to be because of the post-WWII financial difficulties at Voisin. Andr\u00e9 Lef\u00e8bvre had an idea for a dramatically new car, but Gabriel Voisin was not in a position to build it, so he encouraged Lef\u00e8bvre to take his idea to one of the other French manufacturers. Lef\u00e8bvre first went to Renault, but they weren\u2019t interested. Citro\u00ebn was interested, and the result was the Traction Avant.<\/p>\n

Financial troubles at Citro\u00ebn resulted in the company being acquired by Michelin in 1934. Pierre Michelin commissioned a market study to determine what the auto manufacturer might do differently to regain profitability. The study noted that many in France, especially the rural poor, were not able to afford automobiles. The results of the study caused work to begin on an economy car, an \u201cumbrella with four wheels.\u201d There were a number of design requirements for interior space, ruggedness, economy and power, but the most often repeated requirement was that the car must be able to carry a basket of eggs across a ploughed field without breaking any of the eggs. The design team was the same one that created the Traction Avant, and Lef\u00e8bvre was its leader.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>By 1939, 47 prototypes had been built and a limited production run of 250 cars was completed in the summer. The car was to be shown at the Paris Motor Show in October, but the violent events of September 1939 changed everything in France. Months later, when the Germans conquered France, the design team hid the project to avoid the possibility of the Germans developing a military application of the car. Some of the cars were secretly buried or hidden and many others were destroyed. Five are known to have survived, no thanks to later company management. In the 1950s, a memo was sent ordering them to be scrapped, but some workers knew these cars had historical value and hid them yet again.<\/p>\n

After the war, France had an even greater need for an economy car, and Citro\u00ebn responded with an extensive redesign of the TPV into what became the 2CV. The car was a success as soon as it was available for sale in 1949. The waiting list was three years long, and that quickly became five years even as Citro\u00ebn increased production. Success came despite the harsh comments of automotive journalists, but even they slowly came around. It was a minimalist automobile. There were few frills. The first production cars even used a pull-cord to start the engine\u2014like a lawn mower. That quickly changed, but the 2CV was still a very basic automobile and remained that way for 42 years and 3.8 million examples.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>2CV translates to \u201ctwo horses,\u201d and that was for French tax purposes, which is based on the horsepower of the automobile. The \u201c2\u201d could also refer to the engine, which has two cylinders, and the drive, which is by the two front wheels. The 2CV uses an air-cooled, two-cylinder engine powering the front wheels, although there were all-wheel-drive versions of the car built as well. While minimalist overall, it does include some innovative engineering features. The body is metal bolted to an \u201cH\u201d frame. The suspension was incredibly soft which, together with the car\u2019s high clearance, allowed the success of the egg test. It was slow, but it was inexpensive to buy and very inexpensive to operate. Repairs were simple, and the car carried surprisingly heavy loads, in addition to its passengers. More than any other automobile, it helped France become motorized after WWII.<\/p>\n

Pat Cashman had never been in a 2CV when he bought this 1972 2CV6 in 2008, but his wife Barbara had. She had been in school, in Paris in 1974, and met and became friends with a French soldier. He had a 2CV and took her everywhere in it. She loved these cars and often mentioned them as Pat acquired other interesting automobiles. Pat noted Barbara\u2019s comments, and began looking for a 2CV. He found an advertisement by a fellow in Maryland who sourced 2CVs and contacted him. The car that was recommended was perfect. Pat drove a 2CV for the first time when he picked it up and snuck it home on Valentine\u2019s Day. He called the car \u201cCeleste\u201d partly because of its color, Celestial Blue, and partly for \u201cQueen Celeste\u201d in the Babar books. He gave Barbara a card that said, in French, \u201cMy name is Celeste, and I want to live with you.\u201d Inside the car was a loaf of bread, a bottle of wine and lamb chops for their dinner.<\/p>\n

Pat noted that the car has been very reliable over the years that they\u2019ve owned it, and they often drive it. It remains one of Barbara\u2019s favorite cars in their collection. She drives it regularly, and says, \u201cIt\u2019s so ugly, it\u2019s cute.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Driving the 2CV is, well, just fun! Luckily the canvas seats hung from wires went away in the early years, so the seats, while nothing extravagant, are still comfortable. The controls are recognizable, except where\u2019s the shifter? Oh, it\u2019s that thing coming out of the firewall parallel to the floor and with the odd ball on the end. Shifting does take some instruction, and Pat did a good job of that. He said to think of it like a rifle bolt\u2014pull straight back from first and rifle-bolt it into second. It took only a couple tries to master the shifter, and after that, it seemed almost normal. Pulling away is easy, no clutch slippage. Shifts are smooth, and the car was soon up to speed. \u201cUp to speed\u201d does not mean fast. The 2CV is not a speedy car, but its light weight and openness contribute to a feeling of speediness. Cornering was a surprise. With such a soft suspension, it ought to have been horrible to drive through corners at any sort of speed. It leaned a lot, but it took corners with a level of competency that was surprising. No sane person is going to try to purposely put a 2CV into a slide through a corner\u2014power slide is just not in its vocabulary.<\/p>\n

This car makes you smile when you drive it, and it makes everyone who sees it smile as well. As we say in the south, \u201cit don\u2019t get no better\u2019n that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In convoy with a Ferrari 365 GT 2+2, no one seemed to notice the intensely red Ferrari. Instead, fingers pointed and all heads followed the little blue Citro\u00ebn 2CV, or \u201cDuex Chevaux\u201d as it is popularly known. This \u201cTout Petite Voiture,\u201d TPV or \u201cvery small car,\u201d came to be because of the post-WWII financial difficulties at Voisin. Andr\u00e9 Lef\u00e8bvre had an idea for a dramatically new car, but Gabriel Voisin was not in a position to build it, so he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":466,"featured_media":666533,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2187,665,9348,17105],"tags":[3919,6833,666,6778,21697,13061,17106],"class_list":["post-494269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-1970s","category-citroen","category-guides","category-model-guides-production-cars","tag-1970s","tag-1970s-cars","tag-citroen","tag-citroen-model-in-depth","tag-citroen-model-guides-production-cars","tag-car-profiles","tag-model-guides-production-cars"],"yoast_head":"\n1972 Citro\u00ebn 2CV6<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/1972-citroen-2cv6\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"1972 Citro\u00ebn 2CV6\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In convoy with a Ferrari 365 GT 2+2, no one seemed to notice the intensely red Ferrari. Instead, fingers pointed and all heads followed the little blue Citro\u00ebn 2CV, or \u201cDuex Chevaux\u201d as it is popularly known. This \u201cTout Petite Voiture,\u201d TPV or \u201cvery small car,\u201d came to be because of the post-WWII financial difficulties at Voisin. 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