Oh, Citroën, you tease! I hope you’re not playing with my feelings here. The company has been teasing the idea of a re-born 2CV since this summer, and in the past week or so they’ve really pushed the throttle on the flat-twin of their PR department, which has been issuing a whole series of citrus-hued teaser images of the upcoming concept car, a concept that will hopefully lead to a production car. I’m excited.
The promise has been that the car will be an unashamed retro tribute to the original deux chevaux, and, perhaps more importantly, will keep to the spirit of the original car by being actually cheap. Early pricing estimates were targeting under €15,000. That’s under $17,500 in Freedom Eagle Bucks, which is gleefully cheap for a modern EV. I hope they can stick to that.
The earlier teaser image was a shadowy full-car picture, basically a silhouette:
That definitely feels like a re-born 2CV, at least in general shape. This new batch of teaser images is more about details, along with some slightly cryptic images that hint at 2CV lore. Like this one, which is pretty easy:
Two chess knights. Is that a reference to Two Nights in Bangkok, from the musical Chess? Wait that was just one night, and I’m being silly. This is clearly a reference to two horses, the deux chevaux from the old tax scheme where the car was rated at two steam horses, and from there where the car got its name.
Here, you can see all of the teasers from Citroën’s Instagram here:
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That one is pretty clear, referencing the old corrugated “ripple bonnet” used until 1960, and then those knights.
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There’s the hood and headlight teaser; I think this may be the first modern EV to pretend to have non-integrated headlamps of any sort.
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Then we have the wheels, which definitely look like the original wheels, though they’ve added a decadent fourth bolt, which feels like showy ostentation, but whatever. People today are too soft to really appreciate three-lug wheels, I guess. And the venting suggests brakes won’t be inboard this time around.
The next image in the post seems to show a marker lamp on the C-pillar that evokes how early 2CV turn signals were mounted high on that pillar, where they could be seen from the front or rear, allowing for only two instead of four, a tribute to Citroën’s legendary skinflintitude.
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The umbrella is a reference to the original design brief for the car from Pierre-Jules Boulanger, who started the whole thing with his “Très Petite Voiture” (TPV, for “very small car”) program, and famously described what he wanted as “an umbrella on four wheels”or sometimes as “four seats under an umbrella.”
The other image is a door handle that looks surprisingly and wonderfully like the original 2CV’s furniture-like small door handles.
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And finally, these eggs, a reference to the 2CV’s original design brief that included the demand that the car should be able to transport a basket of eggs on the seat over a plowed field without breaking a single egg. Remember, this was a car designed to replace horses and carts for French peasants, and this is also why the suspension of a 2CV is so legendarily soft.
I like how much Citroën is playing with the car’s extensive lore with these; here, I even made a chart so you can see all the references in one easy location:
I hope that helps! Maybe print it out on some foldable or rollable receipt-type paper so you can pull it out and reference it as the need arises.
The official reveal for this resurrected 2CV is October 11; so many times these kinds of things are a letdown, but I’m still hopeful here. I don’t mind an EV take on the 2CV; I think if electric motors and batteries were cheap and usable enough back in the 1930s when the 2CV was being designed, they’d have been considered. If they work now, great.
I think the crucial concept to keep is one of simplicity. If Citroën can keep that at the forefront, and make something that genuinely adheres to the original 2CV’s core character traits of reliability and extreme affordability and classlessness and unpretentiousness, and is not just some neo-retro-designed pastiche, then I think they can really have something.
At least that’s what I hope! I think hoping it’ll come to America is a little too far, but for the rest? I think there’s a chance.
maybe in 25 years???
If it can ride as good or better as the original the only bad thing will be that there’s almost a 0% chance that it’ll be sold in the US
I just wonder if they are thinking city car or autocycle / lsv. Either way should be interesting on city streets.
Yeah, the Topolino treatment doesn’t seem unlikely.
Apparently Europe is introducing a new category of cars called e cars based on the a segment. And that’s what they are aiming for. €15k / $16k city car. Seems like something someone should explore for the US.
Are these the L7e quads or something else?
I seem to remember some talk about some kind of unified kei/quad/LSV classification, but IDK if it went anywhere.
I think they are technically calling it M1E it will sit above L7e and still have safety requirements. Max length 4.2m. Still under negotiations. Might have to be €15k or under? There might be more EU incentives to help get it to a certain price?
At one point they were taking about what they referred to as M0 that would be light and no safety requirements sort of L7e but higher speed. M1E appears to be the compromise. Seems a bit like of like they are looking to do euro kei but all ev.
I’d love to see something similar in the States. I’m on a 45 mph road, so an LSV is a bit too little car to get around.
Ran across this article on the e-car proposal by chance, actually.
https://insideevs.com/news/781631/european-union-e-car-plan/
Yeah, they reduced the speed on several roads by me to 35 , they call it vision zero. But I’m convinced it’s actually about golf carts and lsv. I have an old leaf I have about $2k in thats basically my golf cart that can go 80. I think that’s really the best use for old EVs local around town especially for older people.
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Some DOT and EPA people have told me there is talk of and they have had or heard of meetings with other agencies about this whole American kei thing. Allegly Zeldin and Duffy talk about it frequently. I think something will happen. But not sure what it will look like. I doubt it will be ev only. Maybe length and weight? Maybe some kind of price restriction?
I could see slate coming up with something kei box shaped or 70s / 80s econobox shaped. Like a 70s or early 80s civic. To fit what American kei ends up looking like.
This is the latest most indepth document I’ve seen about M1E. Many people are saying its happening in 2027 but seems like some things are still being negotiated.
https://etsc.eu/wp-content/uploads/2026-03-ETSC-briefing-automotive-omnibus-final.pdf
Thanks, that’s interesting! I was involved in a project back in 2006 to design and build alternatively-fueled commuter cars, and size was one of the main things we were tackling with everything only 1 or 2 seats.
IF the US were to do something, it would make the most sense to just adopt the kei car or Korean equivalent regs since they’re well established and are fuel agnostic. But, since this is America, we’ll come up with our own incompatible standard in 30 years after the rest of the world has moved in to something else entirely. Lol
I honestly wouldn’t make it EV only, even though I think EV is better than ICE at this point. I think the economics, especially if there’s a price component tied to tax breaks, are going to mean everyone just builds an EV anyway, unless they do it like suggested here in Autopian to just build a reg around the existing side-by-side market?
I’ve looked at getting a used Leaf a few times, but getting a third car just isn’t justifiable from both space and cost right now since my car is paid off. I think they’re a good second or third car though if you don’t need to leave town.
They’re perfect for retired folks, like you said, but probably also as a car for a kid since they’re new enough to be safe, but the depreciation hit them like a rock.
I was working around some DOE guys around that time and they were focused on the 2 seaters. 2 seaters make a ton sense especially if you look at the statistics of how people use cars. They really loved the idea of tandnum but knew that wouldn’t fly. That’s the whole point around the cybercab too and people still hate it. But then people don’t buy with logic they buy with emotions and thinking they might do something. The oems know most effective advertising by many metrics is emotional appeal but that takes creativity that doesn’t seem to exist anymore. So throwing big numbers on something to say oh you can do something has to suffice.
I can’t help but think the addiction to 4 doors is partly a phase. The gen z’s are very traditional and seem to like 2 doors partly because they haven’t seen as many 2 doors. I also can’t help but think of all the 4 door 50 something Chevy’s they were chopped to 2 doors over the last 50 years or so. Then how many 2 door ecoboxes were sold. Although keiboxes handle 4 doors well. So maybe that’s the happy medium like extended / quad cab pickups.
I have a 2 door 50 Ford Country Squire that’s a 3 row wagon the length of a Pacifica, but I think it would be better as a 4 door. Lol
Outside of that weird case, I think 2 doors are good if you don’t have kids, but I’d be hesitant to get a 2 door now that I have a kid, or at least until they’re big enough to ride up front.
2 person vehicles make a ton of sense once you get to a second vehicle, and I suspect that emotional component is why the Miata is one of the last 2 doors around. It’s fun and fairly practical as a commuter.
Tandems are much more efficient since you’re cutting down your frontal area so much, but they definitely are a bit strange for ergonomics. I’m curious what you could do with the current battery tech with one, but they do feel a bit like a penalty box.
Over the last decade there have been several electric vehicles with (more or less) non-integrated headlamps. Two examples:
The Swiss Microlino has them standing proud next to the Isetta-like front door. The Morris Commercial JE van has some half-integrated lamps on the fenders, much like the 2CV concept.
I read today about the teams who deal with unexploded WWII bombs. It seems that when a 2CV rots away, often the rusted longitudinal spring tubes are mistaken for bombs. Long rusty metal tube with threaded ends…
This is soooo cute! Kind of like My Second Pony!
Were original 2CVs available in that orange?
It was one of the most popular colors in the Rectangular Headlight Era.
Very nice. I think the orange color should be an additional line near the end of Jason’s chart.
The French are clever w/ their teaser photos, aren’t they?
However the song is “One Night in Bangkok” – Even your link has the name correct.
read the VERY NEXT SENTENCE
Oh, was I meant to keep reading after encountering an obvious error?
No – You lost me after that.
I guess I really should consider a place in Europe if this shows up. Add it to the Ami as MiniCitroen H and C’est fini
Clearly, then, it’s not Dutch:
https://gomotors.net/photos/66/9a/ficheirodaf-66-front-20071012jpg_ff8de.jpg
If Citroen knows what’s good for them, they’ll have the press event test drive go through a Spanish olive grove
OK but can you make a motorcycle from it?
“I made a chart of Citroen’s references to the 2CV’s extensive lore”
Of course you did. I’m impressed that you demonstrated the restraint to save it for below the fold.
“It’s back! And this time it’s electric!”
Sounds like a bad movie trailer from the VHS era.
Is the catchphrase of every fake AI retro car video on YouTube.
Please let it be neither [fingers crossed emoji]
–But it doesn’t look like it has tall skinny wheels, like an old BMW i3 (or 2CV..). Would make sense, and be VERY 2CV.
–Or FENDERSKIRTS! Every hyper miler knows they work, and they were so much Citroën’s thing in the olden times (before 1990).
Come on, how often do you actually puncture with the quality of tyres today? Would have been so easy to implement in the design, and would make much sense on an EV 🙁
I DO like the monocolor graphical teaser style! I know it was popularized in newer times by that infamous JaGuar thing, we’re all supposed to hate now. But it looks damn cool! 🙂
It looks like they really did work at creating a respectable homage to the original 2CV. I fear the tradeoff is that the more faithful the concept car is to the original, the less likely it is to be made into a production car.
Renault and Stellantis (at least East of the big pond) are doing a lot of things right at the moment. Not being afraid of polarizing design is one of them. Let’s see what will happen.
Now that’s a car I might be interested to buy if the price is right and the range decent…
Just because I almost got one as first car.
(but my parents, which were the ones with the wallet at that time went for a 2nd hand Axel [commercial version, so a 2 seater with a massive empty space], and after several problems with it, went for a new AX Spot)
I would have loved to have a new Deudeuche. Well a 2CV6 Charleston, since it was towards the end of the production, and honestly it probably would have avoided all the problems we ended up with the Axel…. and when we went to replace it production had ended, so my choice was an AX Spot or a Polo Peppermint (the AX won because the Citroen dealer gave my parents the best price lowering…)
The range will almost certainly be pitiful if they stick to the under 15k euro price tag. See the Renault Twingo.
I mean, decent for which side of the pond?
Really disappointed there isn’t a picture of a grandfather clock with a digital face sticking out of it.
Thanks for including at lest some of the pictures the article pulls from Instagram, as I cannot see them and these articles are just white boxes, which is a pretty boring concept car.
“Concept Car”?
Affordable, simple and reliable.
Whoah… what a concept!
Any chance they could make it light as well as simple?
I’m not hoping for too much, but I’d be happy if it only weighs twice as much as the original.
And I want a wilfully baffling device for changing from forwards to reverse.
And a manual hand pump for the windscreen washers.
Hopefully they also make a Méhari out of it.
And a twin-engined/motored Sahara.
Well, being electric, emissions and fuel economy are irrelevant, so that means it only has to meet safety and design conformity regulations. That’s still a lot, but, theoretically, EVs should be cheaper and easier to federalize than ICE vehicles, which also means they should theoretically be viable with lower sales volumes, so, I’m choosing to be hopeful that it could come here. I mean, it couldn’t sell any worse than the 500e, right?
Um, I really now want Michelin white letter tires in exactly that typeface.
Same!
My train of thought:
“Oh, neat, it’s something Stellantis can put up against the Twing-”
“…ah, crap, it’s made by Stellantis.”
Oh…crap, I forgot about that too.
So does that mean we are getting a badge-engineered variant here in the states with a Hellcat or at least a Hurricane?
That’s absurd, but still better than the current iteration of Dodge here. Lol
How amazing would it be if Citroen kept the unique front-rear-linked suspension design of the 2CV