- A panel van version of the Citroën 2 CV Concept has debuted at the Paris Motor Show.
- It reimagines the popular 2CV Fourgonette van Citroën built between 1951 and 1978.
- Citroën describes the van as a “passion project” and won’t confirm production plans.
The Citroën 2CV’s return is arguably the biggest news at this year’s Paris’ Motor Show. But the four-door family car with the rollback roof might not be the only 2CV making a comeback. Citroën’s designers have also reimagined the classic 2CV Fourgonette van.
The stubby commercial vehicle marries the front half of the new electric 2 CV hatch concept with a with a square box that swaps back seats for extra load carrying capacity. Cargo is loaded either through the split rear doors, or via a flip-up panel on the side.
Related: Citroen’s 2CV is Back, And It’s Still A Safe Space For Eggs
Production of the original 2CV-based Fourgonette panel van ran from 1951 to 1978, but the survivors were still powering businesses across France well into the new millennium. And while Citroën has yet to confirm the concept van for production – unlike the hatch, which morphs into a production car for 2028 – it’s not hard to see it getting the corporate thumbs up.
Citroën’s conventional ë-Berlingo is already a popular van option in Europe, but it doesn’t have anywhere near the sense of fun or emotional draw that a new Fourgonette would. And that’s before you consider the price advantage. The cheapest ë-Berlingo costs over €24,000, but Citroën says the 2CV hatch will cost around €15,000, which would suggests a van variant might be even more affordable.
Urban Missions
Hitting that price target would inevitably mean making do with a small capacity electric battery, although Citroën hasn’t revealed the size of the hatch’s power pack yet. But the Fourgonette’s brief would be to cover small urban journeys, the kind of use where a long electric driving range isn’t necessary.
Citroën hasn’t shown any pictures of the Fourgonette’s interior, though it should mirror the 2CV concept’s, maybe minus some of the more cutesy elements and colors. We’d expect to see a simple one-spoke steering wheel and basic seating, but the panel van misses out on the retractable roof.
“The 2CV Fourgonnette was more than just a workhorse. It was part of everyday life,” Xavier Chardon, CEO of Citroën and DS Automobiles said of the original van. “Simple, ingenious and accessible, it above all possessed something few commercial vehicles have: a soul. That is the spirit we are bringing back to life today, because being useful should never mean being ordinary.”
