Citroen 2CV Evolution - from 12bhp to a whopping 29!

Peak 2CV had a wonderful array of 2CVs in, from 1957 (really early 2CVs had 9bhp!) through to 1987, so we decided to have a quick run through SOME of the production changes made over the years. This isn't an exhaustive list, and neither of us are pretending to be absolute experts, but hopefully you'll find some interest in this 2CV Evolution. They changed quite a bit!
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Don't forget to like the video if you like it, and share with your friends if you really like it! Thank you all.

[@alansimpson835]

I almost struggle to think of 2CVs as cars. They feel far more like little creatures. It's sort of more like a menagerie than a workshop. Loved the history lesson too

[@PurityVendetta]

As I was watching this fab video I started to feel a bit sad realising that I didn't appreciate my 2CVs anywhere near as much as I should have done. I'll never forget sleeping in the back in the mountains of Northern Greece.

[@danhoppy5517]

Your passion for the tin snails shines through. Thoroughly enjoyed the evolution of Elly's cousins!

[@TheShinyShow]

I find it so odd hearing 2CV saloon. The 2CV is just its own body shape in my head.

[@jdtseventyfour]

I knew very little about 2CV's until I went to university and met a new friend who's mum had one. I was fascinated by the amazing simplicity and practicality that they offer. Later in my uni life I lodged with a family who were Citroen mad and owned an AX and a 2CV (which I had to help repair on the odd ocasion when it wouldnt start) Also you couldnt help but smile being a passenger in one. Definitely a true great classic car to own. Thanks for sharing such an informative history lesson in the life of the 2CV

[@andrewgardner9615]

Love the "Please do not slam the door" Sign-going to get one for my car as my wife is a non driver and seems to have no mechanical sympathy.

[@terryatkinson3182]

Even worse, if you leave the window down abit and they grab the top of the glass to close the door...wtf? My wife often slams the door on the seatbelt 😤😤

[@Simon-ui6db]

so speed sensitive wipers. way ahead of its time :)

[@xqqqme]

Side note on the Acadiane name (which many on your side of the pond may not be aware of): Acadia (L'Acadie in French) was a New France colony in North America in what are now the Maritime Provinces of Canada and the U.S. state of Maine. Later "difficulties" there between the French and British resulted in a mass migration of residents to Louisiana, where a corruption of "Acadians" is what gave us "Cajuns"...and Cajun French and Cajun music!

[@CaptHollister]

For the benefit of those who might not know, Acadian populations survive today mostly in New Brunswick and smaller ones in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island and are separate from the French-speaking populations of Québec.

[@jh565bb]

That's really interesting, thanks for sharing that I love little tip bits of history.

[@meharidude]

It could also just be AK (2cv van) + Dyane (cabin is Dyane) put together--- The Slovenian version is called DAK (Dyane+AK)

[@simonmason8582]

@@jh565bb titbits

[@srfrg9707]

La faute à Napoléon!

[@markcherriman6136]

I used to have a boot extension on one of mine and it used those tabs as a bottom mounting .

[@kaitlyn__L]

Boot extension! What a great idea.

[@cliffwood4610]

Every time you talk about 2CVs, a bell rings in heaven, heavanly vans get two rings...

[@skodakatie7341]

This was very interesting to watch, I fully appreciate your passion for these cars, I have exactly the same amount of enthusiasm for the Škoda brand.

[@ivanvisanich]

Same here. What Škoda's are you into ?.

[@romac9516]

When Jono lifted the bonnet I thought "oh they've taken the engine out". Love 2CVs, great video!

[@richardgoffin-lecar1951]

I love the "Tin Snail". On my top ten list of favourite cars, Citroën built five of them!

[@idimidodjimi6760]

As someone who grew up with my late father owning almost every 2CV out there, and during some point even 5 at the same time, I miss that silly old thing almost as much as I miss my father. I used to drive my 2cv mercilessly like a sports car which it newer was. Full speed blasting it trough the bends for a 100 Kms while I was going to colledge and back. But You earn to respect that little thing with all of its rudermental offering it provided and allmost no creature comfort - appart from opening the roof in the summer and enjoing the outdoors while driving until the half window un-hooks and slam Your elbow sticking out trough the window. I miss my blue and red one each with its own character. Sadlly all i have now is one 425cc engine in the shed to remind me of them, and sound of each one in this video brought the tears in my mind - its unique and unforgetable . At least there are people that still enjoy in their 2CV's - and I'll tell You keep them as long as You can no matter what , they deserve it and You will be proud of it , cause You will miss it and regret decission to move on, or like me giving them away to my brother after my father died only for him to sell them as scrap or to be parted out.

[@andrewstones2921]

Your love of these cars is infectious. “Basic CV joint” he says as he points to a UJ. It’s interesting that in 1979 an imported car still got a reg that matched the year of import, that has all changed now and an age appropriate reg is issued nowadays.

[@HubNut]

I tried to correct that misspeak with a caption... I meant UJ.

[@conesuela1]

Very very interesting, as the owner of a mk1 mini i appreciate the simplicity of the 2cv, i have always loved them, when i was a child i remember going to a citroen dealer with my father who had a GS pallas (probably for a can of LHM) and in the showroom was a yellow 2CV complete with bullet holes. One of the best momories of my childhood

[@Ricketik65]

That sound always gives me nostalgia. 🦆❤️

[@AndreiTupolev]

That '64 one looks beautiful. That's very tempting

[@robenglish416]

Really interesting, thanks! I nearly bought an Acadiane, wanted it as a camper van, budget restriction (also known as wife) prohibited that.😞

[@frothe42]

1964, the year I was born (January 10). That year 2CV is quite delicious, as they all are! Nice seeing the history and evolution of the 2CV. And the Citroën C5 still looks so modern, so today, with the 2CV vehicles. Bravo Mr HubNut !

[@gaddmeister]

Oh I so miss my 2cv's! I will own one again! I remember riding in a 2cv in Belgium in about 1977 and staring at the floor watching the road go by. 😂

[@joedanks7625]

Enjoyed watching this - You will have driven past my '87 Maroon & Black Charleston on your way into town. Jono sure has a lovely selection in at the moment and I'm lucky enough to pop down for a cup of tea and an ogle whenever I fancy!

[@dutchcitroen2cv]

2cv's are a way of life. they have already survived newer cars and will be around for a long time. verry nice video

[@nigelrudd670]

Hubnut Heaven 🤓😉👍

[@ariejonker1088]

Good evening to you , Liked the 1970 2cv4 , very rare Model with AEB square indicator lights from Belgium. They where used from 1962 until 1970, in orange. For the rare 2cv export They Where white coloured. In the Netherlands is a museum dedicated to the 2CV. The 2cv is one of the best histories on wheels.

[@hadtopicausername]

Your love for the 2CV is rubbing off on me. I find the sheer simplicity of the car absolutely and wonderfully hilarious.

[@robertwoodliff2536]

It's odd, the French manage "minimal" to look minimal. While, if the Americans did it, it would look cheap, like something had been taken away.

[@srfrg9707]

The amount of design and engineering Citroën put in the development of this car was huge. It was not just a small car. It was an off road rural small car. The opposite concept to the VW : No need of paved roads, not need of dealerships. A DIY durable car.

[@howard81]

@@srfrg9707 You underestimate just how excellent a Beetle is off-road! They were also designed for DIY maintenance, the owners manual on mine shows how to rebuild the carburettor! Both excellent cars IMHO, ones of which we will sadly never see their like again in any modern vehicle.

[@srfrg9707]

@@howard81 I didn't say it was not capable of off road performance. But it's not conceived as an off road car. The 2CV was. Front drive transmission. low weight. huge suspention travel... It's a rural car. The VW was conceived as an urban car for paved roads. It was more powerfull in order to cope with high speed trafic. The 2CV wasn't capable of that until the 70s.

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@srfrg9707 not just for paved roads, but explicitly for the Autobahn!

[@srfrg9707]

@@kaitlyn__L Ach! Adolf's neue autobahn! Ya Ya!

[@daniellee9015]

Brilliant video Ian 👍 what lovely cars

[@friedjohn]

Wonderful tour of 2CV development. Through I've never had one myself your enthusiasm and sheer knowledge made it very interesting. My dad's company had a 2CV Van around 1960 when I was about 5-6 Years old. It had the old bonnet (by far the most beautiful, but I guess much more expensive to manufacture), but I seem to remember that it only had one rear light or mayby 2 rear lights and one stoplight ... there was absolutely no unnecessary luxury. I am really sorry it was long gone by the time I had my driver's license. I noticed the small red plastic diamonds on the top of the headlights of the 2 oldest cars, they were transparent and would reflect the headlights so you could see if the bulb inside was working. My dad's first Citroën DS from 1961 had similar on top of the fenders (his second from 1966 didn't, so I guess Citroën deleted them around that time for the whole range).

[@tauncfester3022]

There's the relief that I feel knowing I could have gotten sucked down the 2CV rabbit-hole back when I was already stuck in with SAAB 2 cycles.

[@grayfool]

Very good stuff. Love Jono's dry wit, hilarious.

[@Jam3sA]

I'm not big into 2CVs (that's probably blasphemous on this site), but I really enjoyed this potted historical journey. Great job Ian in getting my interest!

[@Kai-Peter.Schellhase]

Excellent video. Thank you both!👍

[@davidmarshall6538]

Very, very interesting video. Thanks Ian.

[@Jay1330]

Really enjoyed this video, your passion for 2CVs is infectious

[@mel20004]

Well done Ian , very informative, thanks

[@johnvanstone5336]

Another supremely interesting programme Ian, keep them coming!🤘🇬🇧☀️

[@theshowman8478]

Brilliant ! A very entertaining master class of 2cv history. Loved it.

[@stephenswift9868]

Both charming and informative! I particularly liked the info about the vans, these aren’t often covered.

[@barryjackson8512]

Great video. I enjoyed that

[@DoubleDeckerAnton]

Really enjoyed this 2cv compilation.

[@paulbennell3313]

Oh those vans! How I'd love one of those!

[@peterriggall8409]

Thanks so much to Johnny and Hubnut. Fascinating. Will forward a link to my 2cv owning mates. Love the way Johnny closes those doors.

[@jmdoutdoors5729]

Great video, thank you very much. Great collection of 2cv's. Love from California.

[@waynetetley584]

One can never overdo a good synopsis esp where 2CVs are concerned. Great viewing Ian and Jono

[@niklaswejedal463]

Absolutely wonderful!

[@user-fh2cw9mi5y]

been waiting for a video like this for a long time, can say im clued up on 2CV's now

[@ABCDEF-yf4yu]

In the 1950s Citroen was building two cars, the futuristic impressive DS, and the primitive 2CV. The earliest had just a single headlamp and windscreen wiper. The 1964 2CV looks like it has the seats from a DS. The Dyane had a restyled body that was meant to replace the 2CV.

[@HubNut]

Only the prototypes had the single headlamp/wiper. The war forced Citroen to keep developing the 2CV, and it changed a lot during that time.

[@carlmarkwyatt]

Fascinating, thank you

[@frglee]

Enjoyed that. And very interesting it was too!

[@kathyytube5660]

A new HubNut. Goody 👏👏👏

[@nigelh4617]

"Adventure kit". Love that.

[@guillaumeromain6694]

Fabulous video! you guys are great!

[@anthonygregg862]

An absolutely entertaining video. Always wanted to know the history of 2cv's. Brilliant lunchtime viewing good times

[@andrewentwistle515]

I must admit that I enjoyed listening to the history of the 2 CV. It makes a very nice change to follow the history of a car.

[@dorsetoctaviaman]

Two knowledgeable enthusiasts and a collection spanning almost 30 years of production of their favourite car. What a great video, entertaining and instructional. Thanks, Ian and Jono. At 12:37 I loved the stick-on logo of two cartoon horses on the front wing of the Belgian midwife's car... and the happy duck on the bootlid. Vive la deuche!

[@mattw8332]

Interesting video. I love the sound of the engines on these: a nice memory of growing up during the 1980s-90s. I remember the 'Bamboo' limited edition from around 1987.

[@alansmith1770]

Wow what an impressive selection

[@fhwolthuis]

We need more of these anorak video's, Ian! Great stuff!

[@automotivemischief.1978jamie]

What a lovely selection of these wonderful little cars.

[@MetalTrabant]

It's always interesting to see enthusiasts of cars that's been made basically unchanged for decades, hovering over every small detail... look, a new knob! A new trim-piece! A rare indicator! :) It's the same with Trabants, we call the experts rivet-counters :)

[@kamrankhan-lj1ng]

Wow

[@christopherford1800]

Great video keep them coming

[@janq-h8139]

Brilliant information, thanks a lot.

[@paulboon1100]

True story. My dad had a second hand 2cv6 van, one with one long window in the back, in the late sixties early seventies, ive only ever seen one like that, i think they called it a "Caravan"?, he had it for two or three years or so and moved literally tons of flowers in the thing back in Limburg Netherlands, I now live in Oz, my dad has passed away, anyway he traded the thing in on a new Ford Transit van, I was sad being a young whipper snapper, I loved that "ugly duck"! It always ran, more reliable then the second Transit he bought. Years later a customer came to the shop and my dad and him started talking about the cars they owned, it turned out that they both owned 2cv6 van with a long Window in the back and as it turns out the bloke bought it at that Ford dealer ship!? As he left the dealer ship went up the hill with his "new" car, not hundred meters away the thing broke in half and the front end took of by itself for a while. The bloke said "I was sitting on the road!", not happy with his purchase. The flowers were always wet so the thing rusted right through, the salt on the roads didn't help, both my dad and him had a good laugh about it all after, although the poor fellow was not impressed at first.

[@barrylaflin8425]

Wonderful...really great ..the workings of these magic vehicles

[@robstrains8711]

Great stuff you even have beech chairs in the early models saving some space and weight definitely needed with 12hp I bet the 0 to sixty is most thrilling.

[@AndreiTupolev]

60 only available in kilometers, I bet

[@kamrankhan-lj1ng]

Yah

[@robertmcduck6712]

Actually 85 kph is achievable, my dad and grandparents owned one, but then my dad died so that Rättäri got sold, but i'll try to atleast continue that old nice car owning thing in my family when i got the money and drivers license.

[@martinneumann7783]

I can hear the noise of my neighbours red 2CV6 Club through my kitchen windows…. that’s so sweet! Like these 25 minutes of 2CV enthusiasm 😊

[@richardwoad6477]

Brilliant video Mr HubNut.😂 Brings back memories of my Dolly. The vans are amazing and old grey Citroen.❤️

[@michaeld.3779]

I own a 1974 Sun Bug Beetle, but I’d love to own one of these 2CV’s, too. I don’t see a minimalist car. I see a lot of fun. These 2CV’s seem to give you all you really need to get around. I especially love the fold-up windows, and rag top and trunk. Just beautiful!

[@TheWirksworthGunroom]

A great primer on the topic! Just need to get my Land Rover (as glimpsed) back on the road when you next visit and we can have a look at that. I reckon Jono' needs a channel too!

[@H4lminator]

Very nice video. 2CV’s are lovely cars!

[@seancooke4127]

All cool especially the vans. Lovely.

[@oliverhale85]

This video is top class.

[@paulillingworth1242]

Wow look that wee engine on the early 2cv .. you have to love the simplicity

[@oglington1]

Great video Ian. You and Jono are a great double act ! More please 🤓🤓

[@mfbfreak]

I wish the old Citroens hadn't gotten this bloody expensive. I would absolutely love to have an Ami, but by now they cost as much as when they were new.

[@frothe42]

They go for quite a bit here in the US on eBay, imported from overseas.

[@MetalTrabant]

I'm also yearning for an Ami 6 Berline, with the weird inward-angled rear window. Bloody amazing design for its age!

[@HubNut]

I absolutely adore them. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aqHQdqWHf5dkZ5Y

[@campbellnutting3663]

Nice one Ian I want one now 😁I miss my old one

[@johnbee7729]

That 1964 LHD is totally drool worthy. Would love that over here in Canada

[@carllawrence787]

The noise takes me back to my college days, one of my tutors had a 2CV and I had a ride in it once, also there was a van version there sometimes as well (never found out who owned that). If I got late bus college bus back home (same bus just on it's second round) sometimes she was leaving as well and the great thing about the bus it was an old Leyland National Mk1 so you only imagine the great engine noises I use to hear!

[@russellb1212]

Really interesting, such fascinating cars

[@AR-iu9jv]

Collection box heater.....memories of my Trabant P601

[@AR-xt8kn]

@the Game, Review and Reallife Channel No I didn't know that, but more scary to drive as the petrol tank lies on top of the engine under the bonnet

[@robinwells8879]

So many varieties in one location. What a treat.

[@andywilliamson731]

My wife worked for Wit-Gele-Kruis as a district nurse from the late 1990s until 2019 as a community nurse. By the time she joined they'd changed over to white Renault Clios. Very practical but a lot less charming. Lovely to see that one :-)

[@bentandre5524]

very nice, didnt know about the differences in the vans

[@CauliflowerMcPugg]

Very interesting and enjoyable 👍

[@scottishcarenthusiastsandtrain]

Power less is more..... Great insight into the 2cv, really enjoyed this video

[@gretchensghost]

Very nice.

[@johnburns4017]

Because of the heavy French taxation on cc, the French manufacturers made cars that had smaller cc but were capable of being revved highly to get all the power out of the smaller engine. Most engines only use a fraction of the power available, they used as much as possible. You find this approach in generator design. This high revving was alien to the likes of the British who thought it was stressing the engine, so assumed these cars under-performed. They never, as you just needed to rev them, which they were designed to do. Jay Leno mentions this on a vid about his French Panard.

[@chriskappert1365]

That fabulous suspension ! I think still unmatched by any other car , no matter how expensive . Just GENIUS .

[@guyfromfrance]

Merci pour cette leçon d'histoire. Bonne chance !

[@johnhunt2388]

very interesting I have learnt a lot about those cars thanks to you as I knew nothing till I started watching

[@skdinterceptor2828]

Great video......lovely cars

[@russellbarker36]

Great video 📹 so interesting 👍

[@unbalancedcrank]

Im having quite a n emotional reaction to the midwife car. Absolutely adorable!

[@allanfoster6965]

More brilliance. More anorak videos please. You make them such fun.😊

[@huwdavies6650]

Very interesting history of the Evolution of the 2cv. Probably one of the most characterful cars ever to hit the road.

[@janstafford1490]

Having my first car at £90 an ami6 estate then there after a left hand drive 2cv4 being perhaps the most sensible side in the uk cos one couldn’t overtake anyway apart from my defender the most fun to drive if I had the readies I wouldn’t hesitate to have another. Thanks for the time and effort you put in.

[@Bowerprods2011]

Big love for the tin snail and hopefully Elly will be back up and trundling

[@lucythemoggy1970]

i saw a 2cv van in plymouth yesterday!

[@stefdnk4428]

Pure nostalgia! In 1966 I drove from Danmark to Morocco in a 1957 2CV. I remember going through Germany we developed a technique to go faster on the autobahn. Waiting for the right moment when we were overtaken by a large truck you throw the 2CV out behind it and when the front hood started to jump up and Down you were in the slipstream and could Cruise Along with up to 100-110 km/h! Quite scary but fun. Probably more scary for the truck driver who just Saw a 2CV disappear in the mirror. Best trucks were car transporters where you did have a chance of a view forward.