Citroen rules out modern-day 2CV

The company's boss doesn't want to go retro.

Fiat, Mini, and Volkswagen have relatively successfully brought back popular models from their past; Mini's entire design language traces its roots to the 1959 original. Paris-based Citroën won't follow the path blazed by its rivals by making a modern version of the emblematic 2CV (pictured), however.

"We evolve our designs by looking at the past, but what I don't want to do is become a manufacturer that produces retro. I'm not going to produce a new 2CV. That had its time, it was right, but it's about finding out the next design that'll be right for the customer," explained Citroën boss Linda Jackson in an interview with Top Gear.

Re-interpreting the 2CV for the 21st century would be a little bit more difficult than making a modern-day Mini or 500. The 2CV was released in 1948, and it was hardly a cutting-edge design when it was new, so it looks much more dated than other people's cars. Its headlights and fenders aren't integrated into the body, for example, and those styling cues help define its design. These features would likely be considered a safety hazard in 2019.

Citroën nonetheless tried to make a modern-day 2CV when it designed the plug-in hybrid Revolte concept during the 2009 Frankfurt auto show. Rumors of a production model surfaced immediately and never really died; Jackson's comments put them to rest for good.

Photo by Ronan Glon.