A taste of France – in a motor car!
If you've missed a French excursion this year, then let us bring a little bit of France to you!
The Citroën 2CV6 is one of the most distinctive-shaped vehicles ever produced. As French, you might say, as Gerard Depardieu singing La Marseillaise.
But this Dolly special edition from 1990 was actually produced in Portugal!
It’s from the last year of 2CV production some 42 years after the first cars rolled off the production line in 1948.
In total, 3.9 million 2CVs were produced along with a further 4.9 million related vehicles including the Fourgonnettes delivery van.
2CV, or deux chevaux, translates as two horsepower. The museum’s 2CV6 Special is 602cc.
Design of the distinctive Toute Petite Voiture (Very Small Car) first began in 1936 and three years later the car was ready to be launched at the October 1939 Paris Motor Show.
But World War Two intervened and following a re-design to use steel rather than aluminium panels, and an air rather that water-cooled engine, the 2CV finally appeared for sale in 1948.
Ironically, it was perfectly timed in that it met the requirements of the austere post war years with its low price, running costs and simplicity.
A 2CV featured in a famous car chase in the 1981 James Bond movie – For Your Eyes Only – during which it rolled down various hillsides. The famous spy will have been grateful for the 2CV’s famous feature – its softly sprung ride. That was down to its independent suspension which was created to meet a wonderful original design brief: that it should be possible to drive the car across a ploughed field with a basket of eggs onboard – without breaking any!
Other famous design features displayed by this exhibit at the Backbarrow attraction include the fold up windows, fully removable roof and its very low weight – just 560kg.
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Gallery & Slideshow
Take the driver's seat
Use your mouse or finger to look around the interior of our 2CV6
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