The return of the tin snail?

It’s gorgeous of course. Citroën’s design department and its colour and trim specialists, for so long corseted up penning vin-ordinaire family hatches and crossovers, have stretched their legs for this charming concept car, inspired by, if not exactly a replacement for, the 1948 2CV, or as it was when it all started before World War Two, the Tres Petite Voiture (TPV).

So right in conception, in proportion and the detail, they’ve handled every part of the new 2CV concept with wit and knowing joy. Even the introduction to this Paris Motor Salon concept saw photos of an umbrella (parapluie), half a dozen eggs and two chess-board horses (knights).

Why? These were allusions to the original design brief for the TPV, which came from Citroën vice president Pierre Boulanger. The tin snail was aimed at replacing the horse and cart, which was then widespread transport in France’s post-war agrarian economy. It should look like an automotive umbrella, should be capable of carrying a basket of eggs unbroken across a ploughed field and its adopted name should be 2CV – two steam-powered horses. It should also be capable of carrying four adults in their ‘church hats’, of carrying 50kg of farm produce in the back or a cask of wine, be economical to run, easy to maintain and simple…