Citroën 2CV

The Citroën 2CV is an air-cooled front-engine, front-wheel-drive economy car introduced at the 1948 Paris Mondial de l'Automobile and manufactured by Citroën from 1948 to 1990. Over 3.8 million 2CVs were produced, along with over 1.2 million small 2CV-based delivery vans known as fourgonnettes. In total, Citroën manufactured almost 9 million 2CVs and variants.

The car was initially powered by a 375 cc (23 CID) H2 air-cooled 9 hp engine with a 65 km/h (40 mph) top speed, only one tail light and windscreen wiper with speed shaft drive; with the wiper speed dependent on the driving speed.

Citroën 2CV Prototype

The 2CV's performance was the butt of jokes. It was said it went "from 0–60 km/h in one day". The original 1948 model had a 0–40km/h time of 42.4 seconds. Despite critics, Citroën was flooded with orders. The car was extremely cheap compared to competitors and was an instant success: within months of it going on sale, there was a three-year waiting list, which increased to five years.

The 2CV was originally sold in France and some European markets, and went on to enjoy strong sales in Asia, South America, and Africa. The 2CV was produced for 42 years, the model finally succumbing to customer demands for speed and safety, in which the ancient design had fallen far behind modern cars.