The car of the future is ... a Citroën 2CV. A new version of the “tin snail”, beloved of hippies and hair-shirted eco-warriors, is set to go into production by 2013. Just like the original, it will be a lightweight, frugal four-door — but sadly the resemblance will stop when it comes to the price tag.
“It’s on its way,” confirmed Vincent Besson, Citroën’s product and marketing manager, speaking to La Tribune newspaper. “The battle to bring down CO2 emissions has caused a rise in prices [for manufacturers]. To recoup those costs, you have to move upmarket.”
Consequently, Citroën plans a car that’s about 13½ft long — only a little shorter than a Vauxhall Astra. The company claims it will cut running costs by improving fuel economy.
There are no further details, but one clue to the look of the new 2CV is Citroën’s lightweight C-Cactus concept car from 2007, which was said to be capable of class-leading fuel economy.
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Unlike the bare-bones old 2CV, the C-Cactus was packed with technology, including an eight-speaker stereo system and ignition key with a touchscreen that doubled as an MP3 player.
The first 2CV went on sale in 1948 and production continued, barely modified, until 1990, about 7m cars later.
However, it had actually been designed in the 1930s. With the outbreak of the second world war, three prototypes were secreted above a false ceiling at Citroën’s test centre near Paris to stop them falling into German hands.
Work on the project resumed after the war, but by then the three hidden cars had been forgotten. They were only discovered in the 1980s when the building was being renovated.