Is the 2CV the Most Iconic French Car of All?
You’ve probably seen at least one somewhere, even if only in a movie. The 2CV (“deux chevaux”) car is as French as Beaujolais, Camembert, and the Eiffel Tower. Citroën, the company that makes the 2CV, defined the car at the design stage as a “TPV” or “toute petite voiture” (very small car). The specifications were for a four-seater with front-wheel drive, a three-speed gearbox – and a suspension that allowed a car carrying a crate of eggs to drive over a ploughed field without breaking any eggs braking in the process. The first 2CV for the public came off the production line in 1949. This turned into a love affair with fans around the world that has lasted even after manufacturing finally stopped in 1988.
The 2CV deliberately was designed to have no ostentatious features. The first models had no locks on the doors and the sales brochure was only four pages, with dimensions of a postcard. The 2CV could reach 60 km/h, or about 40 mph. With its diminutive size, its distinctive curves, and its corrugated metal, the joke at its launch was to ask if customers would also be supplied with a can opener (“un ouvre-boîtes”) to get inside. As the years went by, new models arrived with new engines and cosmetic changes, but the 2CV still stayed unmistakably a 2CV. The “Sahara”, launched in 1959, had four-wheel drive and two engines. It could climb sand dunes with a slope of up to 40°.
Originally created as a replacement for the horse in rural areas, the 2CV or “deuche” (its French nickname) later found a place in the hearts of the first hippies, who were looking for an alternative to the mass consumerism of the 1960s. The 2CV appealed to them because it was entirely handmade, favored longevity over performance, and was almost infinitely repairable without the owner needing special tools.
The 2CV hasn’t gone away, thanks to almost four million models and innumerable film appearances since its launch over 60 years ago. Despite close calls concerning pollution and, most recently, a French law requiring car chassis numbers to be visible and to match official records (older 2CVs often don’t comply), the “deux pattes”, “deux pipes” or even “Tin Snail”, as the English christened it, still can be spotted here and there. Nostalgic 2CV fans can attend the “Rencontre Nationale des 2CV” (national 2CV rally) or visit a museum in Alsace, in the east of France, dedicated to the 2CV and related models. And even today, 2CV drivers still wave to each other in recognition of an “esprit de communauté”, or spirit of community, that will probably last at least until the 2CVs and their fans become too old to get behind the wheels of their beloved 2CVs.
