The new Citroen 2CV will be a small, sub-€15k ‘E-Car’ that’ll come to the UK

Citroen is making a new electric car using the name and inspiration from one of its most famous old ones. Makes sense in a world of rebigulated Renault 5s and Mini Coopers and Ford Capris and Vauxhall Fronteras and so on.

Because with over a century’s worth of heritage just sitting there collecting dust, the urge to plaster a classic name over a bloated new crossover, roll it out for sale and watch the euros roll in is surely irresistible. Right?

“It’s not an easy path,” Citroen boss Xavier Chardon told TopGear.com. “The museum [of past models] is very tempting.” However, he’s quick to point out what he’s up against.

“More and more Chinese cars are coming. And if you look at the pitch of my competitors, there’s one car, then the successor is bigger, bringing more horsepower, more computing power, more screens, and I believe it’s time for a brand like Citroen to go for a different path.

“The 2CV is a kind of ‘less is more’,” he adds.

So, he confirmed that the new 2CV will be pitched in the new segment of European motor cars built to be affordable and crucially, small. “It’s an E-Car,” Chardon said, “knowing that the definition of E-Car is not clear yet.” That’s because the regulation governing this segment is still being worked out.

The only thing he does know is that it’ll have to come in under 4.2m in length. Even then, Chardon said, “this is not a restriction because the E-C3 is currently below 4.2m”.

On the subject of regulation, Chardon was clear that it needs to be either checked, or put on freeze. “If I look at our current situation, we have between 20 to 25 per cent of our engineers that work on regulation. The question is that every time you bring new regulations, of course there are always good reasons behind them, but sometimes the good reasons may produce the wrong results.

“Cars are getting more expensive, and young people cannot afford them, so they keep their old car that has higher emissions and a poorer safety package. This is something that we hope will get a freeze or a better understanding of what is really required by customers,” he added.

To that end, he confirmed the new 2CV will be a fully homologated car, and will come with all the airbags, ESP and so on required for proper production. He wouldn’t say exactly how far it’d be able to go on a charge, only noting that it’d be a long old trip if you took this new 2CV from Paris to Marseille (that’s around 490 miles). There’s no plan for hybrids or range-extenders, either. At least not at this stage.

“You will be able to drive 130kmh (80mph) [in the new 2CV], but you will have to take your time because we are close [in philosophy] to the original 2CV. That original car’s [fuel] tank was 20 litres. You are not going that far on 20 litres,” he said with a laugh.

“If you want to do Paris to Marseille, you have the C5 Aircross, but this new 2CV is a very different philosophy. I think it will address the second car of a household, maybe commuters. If once a year you have to take this car to go elsewhere, it will be possible but it won’t be the fastest one.

“So enjoy life,” he said.

It’ll be made in Europe, with at least 70 per cent of its content sourced from Europe. “Whatever is the regulation, this car will fit with EU content,” he said. “We are developing a new platform and Fiat is also onboard, so it’ll be two brands – Citroen and Fiat – but it’s too early to give away too many details.” (FYI, that new Fiat will be the reborn Panda - colloquially known as Pandina in Italy - which is smaller than the current Grande Panda.)

One crucial detail we know is the new 2CV will be offered in right-hand drive, meaning it’s heading to the UK. “Of course,” said Chardon.

And, being a car that takes inspiration from the 2CV, the ‘enjoy life’ part is super important. “What I did is really look back at what made the 2CV successful,” he said. “The purpose was really to put people on wheels at the time, and this is the biggest challenge we are facing in the car industry today.

“To put people on wheels, to electrify the wheels, and make the offer accessible, affordable and enjoyable. Obviously, there’s clear inspiration from the original model, but beyond the design it’s an inspiration of keeping something that’s essential, affordable.

“It’s form following function,” he added.

It’s something echoed by Citroen design boss Pierre Leclercq. “To be honest, I was always the one saying it’s much more interesting to work with a philosophy than doing a neo-retro type of car,” he told TG. “Now… honestly we would be so stupid not to do it.”

Now we would be so stupid not to do it

Because, he reiterates, competition from new Chinese brands is intense. “Honestly, we have an incredible past, so many icons, why can’t we use one or two that bring back a bit of what everybody is expecting? It’ll bring so much joy on the road.

“People want a bit of nostalgia in a very positive way,” he said.

When approaching the prospect of a new 2CV, Leclercq and his team made a list called the ‘tops and flops’: a roundup of rival retro recreations. “There are successes, but I don’t think everything will be a success. That’s why it shouldn’t just be a styling exercise.”

And it shouldn’t be… cute, either. “For me, there’s a word I really have a hard time with in the car industry, and it’s ‘cute’. I… cannot. Take an Ami. You can say that an Ami can be ‘cute’, but when we designed the new generation, I told the guys, it doesn’t have to be cute, it has to be productive. It has to be desirable. It should not look like a toy.

“As soon as you put some eyes and you have a front face, then let’s just say it’s a fine line between looking like a toy and looking desirable. You have to make sure that you make a car as desirable as possible.

“When you put 15,000 on the table to buy a car, it is still a lot of money. You have to make sure that the person falls in love with their car,” he added.

Hence the name. “We called the car 2CV because it’s our history and it’s our DNA,” Chardon said. “But it’s also the car that is supporting our brand positioning. We want to be caring. Affordable. Essential. Less is more.”

A beat.

“If you want to make burnouts at the traffic lights, this is not the brand to do it with,” he said with a laugh.