The Citroën Berlingo 2CV Fourgonnette Is the Greatest Sort of Retro

The Citroën Berlingo 2CV Fourgonnette is predicated on the Berlingo, first launched in 1996, and now in its third technology, with diesel, gasoline, and all-electric variants. Due to the Italian coachbuilder Caselani, consumers can now additionally order a 2CV-inspired model of it, which is both fatally tacky or considerably impressed, relying in your persuasion.

For me, I don’t suppose that is tacky nor terribly impressed and extra only a factor that I’m blissful exists on the earth — or a minimum of will exist when orders begin subsequent month and manufacturing begins in January. The factor about retro kits like that is that you simply get a automobile that appears outdated however with not one of the issues that often would entail with an outdated automobile, which is that every little thing is unsafe and damaged. The Berlingo 2CV Fourgonnette makes an attempt to be the very best of each worlds — trendy issues beneath however with a pores and skin impressed by a automobile first made in 1951, the authentic 2CV Fourgonnette. Or, you would say that it seems like hard-shell baggage.

You can’t say that Caselani didn’t put some thought into it. I current to you the next, very intensive listing of modifications, through Citroën:

• Berlingo’s entrance finish panel has been utterly overhauled, revealing the options that have been so attribute of the outdated 2CV from days passed by. The grille, bumper and wheel arches have been changed by new fibreglass parts tailored to the body, which integrates clips and bolts for attaching them. All of those parts are assembled at Caselani’s workshops in Lombardy, Northern Italy.
• The V-shaped domed bonnet narrows in direction of the decrease part – it “pinches”, to make use of the designer’s personal jargon – similar to earlier than. The well-known embossed striated coat sit within the centre of the front-end panel, extending over virtually the entire of it.

• The spherical headlights are partly indifferent from the bonnet, becoming into it as they prolong again – not like the unique ones which have been utterly offset. A extra trendy interpretation with parts which slot in with the remainder of the car.
• The low-relief grooves on the prime of the wheel arches featured on the outdated 2CV and have been used to ventilate the engine.
• With its concave-cut higher part (or M-shaped, flared in direction of the highest), the grille is enticing and distinctly Citroën, emblematic of the 2CV AU. The big chrome-plated chevrons – the model’s signature – are highlighted, positioned proper within the centre of the grille and overlaid on it, additional emphasising them. All of those parts are what has formed the van’s identification, connecting it to Citroën’s historical past and repute. The imposing grille is extremely arched, built-in into the entrance finish, and forming one with the bonnet as on the time. It extends downwards from the bonnet, giving one the impression that the wheel arches are floating – becoming into this key part. The road above the fog lamps, which stretches over the car’s full width, additional amplifies this impact. It provides stability to the entrance face and widens it, reinforcing its sturdy character.
• Visually, the entrance bumper is decrease than on Berlingo. Whereas the 2CV’s bumper was chrome-plated, this one is painted white, contrasting with the physique. This emphasises the protecting nature of the part, whereas on the similar time investing it with a sure modernity.
• The perimeters, rear doorways and roof have all been given a second pores and skin, topping off Berlingo’s bodywork. These fibreglass parts all pay homage to the 2CV’s extremely distinctive corrugated sheeting. However on this car, they’re purely ornamental. Initially, they’d an precise function – they have been what gave the entire construction its rigidity. These striated parts and the reworked – raised – roof – are a deliberate try to create a mode whereby the car’s passenger compartment part is separated from its cargo part. This was already a characteristic of the outdated van.
• On the rear of the car, a small vertical window that’s rounded on the prime and backside options on every of Berlingo’s rear doorways – an extra tribute to the 2CV. For a extra trendy really feel, the very thick black seal across the home windows has been eliminated. As for the car’s cease and reversing lights, their completely spherical form is dropped at the eye by their sheer dimension. They’re surrounded by purple trim, making them much more seen and giving them a extra up to date really feel.
• Varied key areas on the car are chrome-plated – one other nod to the small print that the 2CV sported. This is applicable to the headlights, the bonnet’s central ridge, the grille with its chevrons and contour trim, the unique hubcaps (that are nonetheless manufactured up to now) and the chrome-plated handles on the headlights which have been used to open them (for changing the bulbs). Solely the deal with for opening the bonnet has not been included on this new model.

Citroën didn’t say how a lot the van prices, although will probably be extremely configurable with the aforementioned number of energy sources, and it’ll additionally are available in three totally different varieties, from a panel van just like the one you see above to a real passenger van, meant for the French countryside.

This new Berlingo can be a reminder that we might use extra officially-licensed coachbuilds of fashionable automobiles, not fewer. They by no means appear to make anybody indignant, for one cause or one other, in any case, probably as a result of the stakes are fairly low. Additionally who might probably be indignant a couple of retro-styled Berlingo?