Toute Petite Voiture (TPV)

In January 1938, Citroën ran the first TPV road tests. This was the prototype with one headlight that would become the famous 2CV.

The same screws were used on the majority of the car, and just 4 of those screws held the engine together.

Pierre Boulanger wanted to create a car that could be driven by farmers and could quickly start in the morning without any worries after a night outside.

Comfort was not the priority and with the poor state of the roads at the time flexible suspension was important.

It was expected that the 2CV could cross a ploughed field with a basket of eggs in the trunk without breaking any. Because of its basic features, the 2CV was described as “four wheels under an umbrella”

The 2CV prototype had only one headlight as laws at the time didn't require two! The 2CV was nicknamed "The Cyclops" and, initially, the headlight was placed at the centre of the bonnet, but later it was placed on the left of the car.

To run studies and tests on the 2CV, and because Pierre Boulanger feared someone would copy his ideas, he bought a secure property on the west side of Paris where 49 prototypes were built and tested within this special area with a 2.5 kilometer track and all types of terrain.

This one is a classic 2CV type A, built in the 1950's, found in Fleurie, north of Lyon.

A bottle of Yann Bertrand Fleurie Cuvée de Chaos from the Beaujolais region would help me through lockdown today...