While driving out of the showroom, near Zurich, you think: “out into the wide world! We will go up the mountains, into the avenues, see some of Europe or at least Switzerland.” But 7 years later you have only driven 626 km and you start to worry…
We are selling this Sahara for one of our clients. He bought it a long time ago, in ’87. It was already beige then, as the photos from back then show, and it also had its sturdy front bumper. It remained in his shed for decades, until he put it back on the road in 2011. With a new coat of paint, in matte beige, as if it had just come out of the sand of the Sahara.
A 2CV that looks like it just came out of a barn. A barn where it was placed by grandpa Jean-Pierre in the seventies. The car was part of the family and – although defective – was allowed to stay, in a corner, under the hay. Waiting for something. Later. Someday.
Whiter than white, radiant, like a swan. Although the 2CV was Citroën's ugly duckling according to a journalist, where they otherwise only designed swans, Citroën dared to deliver the duckling in swan white in 1970. It suits it well, especially with the red, contrasting interior. The roof of course in the colour of the paint, as was customary at the time.
All the things one can do with this car! Camping, turning it into a market stall, a suitable means of transport for your ... (fill in your hobby, company, etc.). You could also transport horses with it, judging by the text on the back, but I wouldn't recommend it.
After a period of development and testing, the 2CV 4x4 Sahara was launched in 1960. Born from the idea that cooperation takes you further, 2 drive lines were built in, each driving an axle. This resulted in a four-wheel drive 2CV with a fairly simple design. With 1 gear lever, 1 accelerator pedal and 2 ignition keys.
The 2CV with its simple bodywork on an inventive suspension chassis asked for it; a delivery version. With an eye on the HY bus, a simple box was placed on the back of a normal 2CV with the same ribbed panels and wheel arches that housed the tank and the spare wheel. The AU – the utilitarian 2CV – was born.
On the dashboard shelf we found a Shell Car Costs Agenda, with some interesting information about a part of the history of this 2CV. In May ’87 it was bought with 69,000 km on the counter. It got new brakes and was serviced. A few kilometers were driven around the block, but then bigger adventures began.
We found this AZU in a barn in France. Unfortunately, there was no Carte Grise or other history with it. So we requested a building certificate from Citroën and looked at details in and on the car. And then you often get quite far in reconstructing its past.
More than 15 years ago, one of our customers drove a pink 2CV, but her dogs didn't really fit in it; could we do something about it? Of course we could; we chose a van, of course in her favorite colour.
In 2018, we got this Acadiane from France, via an appreciated colleague. In the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, it drove its laps, around the town of Cambo les Bains, a few kilometers from the Spanish border. The floor and footwell were no longer optimal, so were replaced. The rest was in used, but solid condition.
In 2019, this Acadiane was found in Burgundy, near the town of Paray-le-Monial. Apart from the fact that it had just under 51,000 km on the clock at the time, we know nothing about its previous history. It does have a big advantage for an Acadiane; for once, it is not beige or white, but colourful blue!!