- Citroen Boss says the future plan is to be “bold and shocking”
- As a result, 2CV is ready to return as a modern EV
- Seeing backwards is the new look forward
After hot on the heels of the revived Renault 5 and its Madcap R5 Turbo 3e Big Brother, Citroen is the latest brand that says it is to reintroduce more of its history.
In a speech with Autocar, Citro’s CEO Thierry Koskas said the company would draw on “one of the richest stories in the world” among car manufacturers and that 2CV was one of the most recognized cars it had produced.
Koskas, who stops confirming a release date, claims that Citroen needs more iconic models in the future that will “surprise.”
Earlier this year, Autocar also revealed that the design work had already begun on the retro-futuristic 2CV. At the same time, the Citro’s Fire Manager said we can expect a new concept car to arrive later in the year – but it will not necessarily be a preview of what we can expect from an electric tin snail as 2CV was lovingly known.
Old School is the new school for car design
It is no coincidence that several European carmakers delve into the history books for EV inspiration.
Currently, the threat of cheaper and more technologically skilled Chinese competition creates concern that buyers will be tempted to choose the best value settings as the cost of living continues to rise.
“But buyers still want a good design,” Renault’s design manager, Laurens Van De Acker, told me at the recent launch for Dacia Bigster. “Design and inheritance or have a story to tell,” he added.
It is also no coincidence that the same European manufacturers will restart vehicles that were once considered practical, affordable people with the power to carry whole nations through hard times.
For example, Renault 5 was born during the oil crisis in the 1970s, when people shouted for a cheap and effective set of wheels to use daily.
Similarly, 2CV was designed to lure farmers away from horses, pull eggs over rough terrain and generally act as the ultimate do-it-all vehicle. It is likely that the world’s first SUV.
With internal combustion motor cars phased out in many countries, customers shout for similar affordable and practical options in the EV room.
