- Citroen is taking on cut-price Chinese EVs with a homage to the iconic 2CV.
- A production version of the retro 2 CV Concept hits showrooms in late 2028.
- In-door egg storage nods to the original 2CV’s quirky egg-friendly design brief.
The Mini Cooper, Fiat 500, VW Beetle, Renault 5, Chevy Camaro, and other classics have been resurrected to push our nostalgia buttons over the last 30 years. But the Citroën 2CV was always a glaring absentee from the list, until this week’s Paris Motor Show. This is the 2 CV Concept, and it’s more than a bit fun. A production version arrives in 2028, Citroën promises.
Previous Citroën CEOs vowed they’d never resurrect the iconic 2CV, despite it remaining the brand’s most famous car. More than 3.8 million were sold between 1948 and 1990. But now Citroën, like other legacy brands, is making use of its heritage to remind us why we should stick with it as Chinese automakers take an ever larger slice of the European car market.
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The result is a four-door electric hatch concept that doesn’t just dip its toe in retro waters. It free dives right to the bottom. All the classic design cues are present. The plunging, ribbed hood, the bug-eye headlights on fenders that stand proud of the flat bodywork, and the roll-back canvas roof. But there’s a pumped-up muscular look this time around, and the wide track and 19-inch wheels fill the fenders like no original 2CV ever did.
It’s also around 8 inches (0.2 m) smaller than the OG tin snail, at 148 inches ( 3.76 m) long. Citroën says that size makes it easy to park in cities, but it will also help keep the cost of the production version down to just €15,000 ($16.8k / £12.7k).
Removable Seats, Egg Storage
The interior definitely doesn’t scream ‘budget car,’ even if it does channel the simplicity of the original. The bench seats can be removed for picnics, and a portable hamper on the floor serves as a console and storage cubby. The doors even have an integral egg box. Why? Because the original 1930s design brief for the 2CV called for a car that could carry a basket of eggs across a rutted field without any breakages.
Other retro details include a single-spoke steering wheel and transmission shifter that sprouts from under the dash. But that shifter is hooked up to an electric drivetrain here, not an air-cooled 2-cylinder and four-speed manual.
Citroën hasn’t revealed anything about the motor and battery. But it’s unlikely to be fast, or go far on a charge. The target price makes it impossible. Rival Renault’s base model Twingo produces 81 hp (82 PS / 60 kW) and lasts 163 miles (262 km), which might offer some kind of guide. We’ll find out more in the run up to the production 2CV making its global debut at the 2028 Paris Motor Show, exactly after the original premiered at the same event.
