Citroen’s 2CV remains one of the more recognized European vehicles around the world, owing to its VW Beetle-like popularity in places including its home country of France as well as Italy. The 2CV was even sold briefly in the U.S. but was not a home run due to its odd looks and limited horsepower. Regardless, it was a charmer wherever it went, and there was enormous innovation packed into what was essentially an economy car. The model shown here is the Dyane, an offshoot of the 2CV that combined some subtle improvements over its more popular sibling. Find the 1980 Dyane here on craigslist in Florida for $12,000.
The Dyane’s history is a somewhat confusing one: it was intended to be a superior 2CV, potentially even its eventual replacement. As such, there were grand aspirations for improvements it would make over the well-loved model. However, as was often the case, Citroen didn’t have the capital to build an entirely new model, so engineers were encouraged to use as much existing tooling and parts to build the new model. In addition, Citroen had recently acquired Panhard, and needed to keep those teams busy until they figured out what to do with them – so the project was kicked their way for a spell, which likely explains some of the styling influences on the exterior.
The end result was a car that had some significant improvements while remaining quite similar in execution to the 2CV. The most notable upgrade was the eventual availability of the 602cc air-cooled twin with a rip-roaring 28 b.h.p. (the introductory engine was a smaller 425-cc twin.) The end result was a car that was capable of reaching just under 70 miles per hour and staying there, while still providing the impressive ride quality and handling that the softly-sprung 2CV was known for. There would even be an eventual third engine options with less power but featuring hemispherical heads!
Owning a car like this means you’re completely content driving on slower, less trafficked roadways, as even a busy 4-lane would likely prove intimidating. I’m a big fan of curious vehicles like these that don’t need a ton of power to be fun, but after a few years of living with a van that had around 70 horsepower, I feel that you need to live on or near a beach to justify their existence (or, to the opposite extreme, a small rural town where you just have to watch out for logging trucks.) This Dyane looks like it has been well-preserved, and we’re curious if the seller imported it recently or has owned it for a longer period, as the backstory has to be interesting. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Rocco B. for the find.
Adorable, but in a state where DEQ is strict, this car might have trouble passing the emissions test. So check that out before breaking out the wallet!
I guess you only need one tail light so that’s what you get. Definitely a beach car, how long would it take to get to seventy?
There are two tail lights set low, just above the bumper on either side of the license plate. (Fooled me for a minute too)
Tuesday is the answer.
(After driving a 2CV, I feel qualified to the question of how long to get to 70.)
Wonder how the seller has kept it
running all these years. Here in
Florida, a lot of folks used to frown on anything that didn’t say
Ford, GM, or Chrysler. Parts were
almost impossible to get, and if you did find them, there were few
if any mechanics that would even
try working on one for fear of being called uin American or something worse. Case in point:
Had a friend of mine had to wait 3 months to find a water pump for a ’91 Chrysler Fifth Avenue
sedan! That’s why we used to see a lot of foreign cars in scrapyards in Polk County, where
we lived at that time. Took ’em
nearly 30 years before someone
finally opened a foreign car repair
shop near Lake Alfred in 2015. It
didn’t go smoothly though. A pack of ignorant rednecks trashed the place before it opened. Breaking windows and
spraying KKK symbols all over the building. I guess that’s why I
study people like that. Wonder what makes ’em tick and why they do things like that. The only
fear I ‘d have would be that of being squashed like a grape in this car on I-4 by some speeding road rager with a really bad attitude. As for the car, I like it but I’d wanna get me a good shell
of one of these and build a really
kooky EV out of it. Better than the one I saw at Old Town in ’21!
I saw one of these with a fire breathing LS motor in it and all the trimmings. Ruined that car by
turning it into a cartoon charicature IMHO. Nice car though.
Rednecks were against Toyotas and Kia’s in 2015?
Sh!+ Ken, you can get squished on I-4 at any moment these days with all the yodelheads out there.
Great visibility via the “greenhouse” effect.
These are fun little cars in a medeival town where anything more than 28hp is a waste because you are crawling through tiny streets.
But they are dangerous in a wreck. The top rolls up to let the sun in. No roof means no continuous structure. The whole car weighs half a ton and the bumpers bend if you step on them. They crush spectacularly in a wreck.
They are quirky and fun to drive though. The gearshift sticks out of the dash like a hockey stick you pull and push and tilt left and right to shift gears — something you will do a lot of to make up for no horsepower as you wallow and float to the whiny soundtrack with the top rolled up.
Once met an emergency room doctor from France. He said when a call about an auto wreck came in, they’d ask what kind of car. If it was a 2CV they’d tell the ambulance crew to take their time… no need to add to the death toll.
Drove one of these in France in 1984. Was a fun little machine originally built for rural folks like farmers and tradesmen. Hardly ever see them even in France anymore so finding parts and a patient mechanic would be an issue. Still nice to see a well preserved specimen which deserves a place in the automotive Pantheon
That’s the more powerful engine; the older one has parallel ports. Dyane has higher compression pistons than the 2CV (9:1 compared to 8.5:1), but is heavier. Parts are easy to find.
BMW R1100 oilheads fit if you want more oomph. GS flat-4 engines fit too (makes a Sidewinder).
As the former owner of a 602cc and the owner of a 425, you won’t see 70 mph unless you have a stiff tailwind. They’re a blast to drive, but you gotta stir that stick. Motto of the 2CV club is zero to sixty in the same day.
@ Big C:
Some of them were. For the most part, they hated Kias, Hyundai’s, and Yugos. Some of them embraced Toyotas, but they were few and far between. For them, there was only one vehicle–
a Ford pickup lifted 9 feet into the
Air with a gun rack in the back window. Most folks around Polk
County drove only American cars
and trucks back then. It wasn’t til
the ’90s that you saw anyone driving anything foreign until American cars and trucks got so
bad that they started buying Toyotas to get a quality vehicle.
Still had to go to the dealer to get
’em fixed though
Couldn’t agree more Rex. The way people drive these days is
atrocious. Makes me wanna build a real life Checkillac with a
Smash And Crash Road Rage Bumper Kit by Ronco. Then, all you have to do is to pull up behind one of those fools and scare the living daylights out of them!