The Citroën 2CV is one of those European economy cars that most Americans have never seen in person. But they were plentiful in many movies filmed in France. More than 3.8 million of them were built over 42 years yet few found their way to the U.S. We assume this is one of them since it has left-hand drive and it sports an older restoration, not having been driven in some 15 years. It can be found in St. Louis, Missouri, and is available here on eBay where the bidding stands at $3,550. The seller listed it as a 1964 model, but the title shows 1965, an oversight.
The motives for developing the 2CV were similar to that of the Volkswagen Beetle, i.e., to produce a low-cost means of transportation for the masses. French farmers were seen as a big market for the little cars that were on the drawing board before World War II but didn’t go into production until 1948. And things were going strong until 1990 when the last 2CV rolled off the assembly line, giving way to more modern technology. At the heart of the Citroën 2CV was a front-mounted 2-cylinder, air-cooled engine using a 4-speed manual transmission and front-wheel drive.
This 1965 edition sports suicide doors and a 602cc engine which is probably good for 27 hp (you wouldn’t want to take this car on the interstate). Restored years ago, it’s been inactive for a decade and a half. The engine will run if gasoline is supplied and recent attempts to start it have been successful until a hole in a fuel line was discovered. The gas tank has been replaced along with the bumpers fore and aft.
Everything else seems to work on the car and we assume it’s in good cosmetic health. But the seller doesn’t include any photos of the full car, just sections of it. As is typical of the 2CVs, the roof has a canvas top that you can peel back. If you’re into the mechanics of the Citroën 2CV, this could be a cool little project. You’d be guaranteed to be the only one at Cars & Coffee to have one!
Don’t very often see 2CVs of this age in this nice of condition. This is a beauty. If I had room for it, I think I’d snatch this up!
I remember Peter Egan doing a road test on a 2CV.
He said that you have time to notice things you never did
before while driving one.
We drove the1956 “truckette” I had just bought from my brother, from So Oregon, up to, then across British Columbia ending up in Madison, Wi for another ‘trip story’ for R&T.
I still have the rig, and enjoy Citroëns at a variety of levels, owning about 11 of them.
This looks like a fine car, expect it will go to a fine home.
Curt Henderson( Richard Dreyfus) drove a ’67 in American Graffiti, which was odd since the movie took place in ’62, but Lucas wanted an eclectic car to fit Curts persona, and the 2CV was it, the year didn’t matter to most viewers. Hp is on the meager side, with reports of 9hp to 29hp for the 602. Again, we had 396 Chevelles. I read the tall roof line was so “Gendarmes” didn’t have to remove their tall hats. The 2CV was used as a police car for many years. As spindly as they look, there are sanctioned 2CV races, and they do remarkably well. Certainly will stand out at the Walmart parking lot, once you eventually get there, that is.
My road car’s engine has 38bhp, as I recall (dyno-ed it) – still with a Solex. It’ll do about 80 happily; more with a tailwind.
The race series cars use Weber DMTL 32/34s these days and are quicker again.
This and the Stude on the same day..opposite ends of the spectrum but I’d love to have them both…these are just great little cars..rolll the roof back slide your longboard in and hit the coast road…aah..I can almost smell the baguettes on the back seat…
Suicide doors were stopped in 1964. This 2CV should not be a 1965 car.
Could be one of those cases where whatever state it was originally titled in issued them by year of the title application at the time, rather than model year or year of manufacture, and that year from the original title just persisted through subsequent title transfers.
Great condition, looks fun to drive. If it doesn’t have one already I’d hoop up a proportionater for oil.
So many things point to this being a retro modded 2CV….If it has the larger 602cc motor, it’s not original to the car-that would have been a 422cc so someone did a French version of an LS conversion here. The suicide doors were only on the very early models. The headlights and bonnet attest to it being early…but these have often (like Mini’s) been imported with ID plates from other cars…really doesn’t matter as they never really changed very much.
The interior is from a later model also…shows slots for headrests which certainly never were on any of the early cars. Critical to check for rust. The French didn’t use the best steel for the floor pan/chassis and these do rust if you look at them sideways. New ones are available as are all the parts and not terribly expensive either.
That said, this looks like a decent car and having driven one from Seattle to New York can attest that they are a hoot. Don’t get one if you don’t like people because you’ll be stopped everywhere you go by people wanting to talk to you about it. Also, surprisingly, they run best on premium fuel which they sip at delicately.
Wow! Seattle to NY! Bet that was an adventure! Makes my cross country trip in an MG Midget sound luxurious haha!
Mine was a 1964, purchased in Northern Ontario Canada….best car I ever owned, reliable, 425 cc engine, gasoline heater. Sold it for $400. after driving it for 80,000 miles with original tires. It was not as fast as my Panhard PL 17 Tigre….but had more character!
I had one as a press loaner circa 1987. A company in DC was buying good-condition pre-‘68 2CVs in France and having them updated in Fance. Because their VIN was pre-safety/emissions what were essentially new cars, bringing them was legal.
But even with the big engine, top speed was just over 60 mph, but I remember driving on the Baltimore beltway at rush hour and making the mistake of being in the left, or “fast,” lane…slightly up hill and into a strong wind. Even flat out, my speed dropped below 60 mph, below 55 mph, to 50 mph. I thought I was going to die.
Some kind souls let me get over a couple of lanes to the right, and obviously I survived.
I wrote it up for AutoWeek and have republished it on my website. But what an experience.
Yes…speed in a 2CV is at best lethargic.
On our cross country trip my friend (a 2CV fanatic) told me to use the cruise control…I couldn’t find it anywhere, so asked him where it was…he told me to push the throttle to the floor and just leave it there…resting your foot on the floor was it. I was regularly able to get to 70 and hold it on long flat sections, but as noted by Carbuzzard, any incline erroded that quickly.
On one stretch in Wyoming I thought I had a serious issue and pulled over to check…nope, engine good, wheels good, tires good. Turns out it was the 30-40mph headwind. I was barely making 40-45mph.
No car gets you in contact with the elements, geography and road like a 2CV. It’s affected by everything, but I wouldn’t trade that trip with my daughter for anything.
This looks like a good one. I had a 2CV for a few years in California, Berkeley mostly, and took a few trips to the backcountry of Humboldt and Trinity counties, and to Tahoe once. Mine was an older one, 1957, had the 425cc engine. Too slow, really, and have wondered if the newer ones with the 602cc engine could keep up a bit better. The suicide doors are great, and with a centrifugal clutch like mine, you could open the door and push with your left foot on the ground and your right foot on the gas to get going if the hill was really steep. Remarkable engineering. 50mph/50mpg. These cost way too much now, all collectibles, no $300 beaters like the old days.
Agree. Suicide doors were great. Just lift them off the hinges and leave at home. Drive without them.
Within 10 minutes one could remove the hood, the trunk lid, the seats (front & rear) and all four doors!
In Winter I used to take the parts down to my warm basement to clean & wax them. What a car!
Covelo – NOBODY lives in Covelo (or will admit to it).
Just kidding.I was surprised to see that,as I’m from
Eureka.
Mine was actually manufactured in 1964 yet titled as a1965.
I paid $1435. Canadian dollars for it.
Only other car that was equal in snow was the Saab 93.
There was a 2 CV to the beginning of the movie American Graffiti, do you remember?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXEg2883VHc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-PBAh0AM4M