French title

Chassis no. 2005.000080 Front engine no. 9854 Rear engine no. 6209 617446

- Very rare model, fewer than 700 built

- The most sought-after 2 CV

- High-quality restoration

- No reserve

 

Built at the time in Citroën’s factory at Vigo in Spain, this 2 CV ‘Sahara’ was part of a batch of 80 such vehicles destined for the Spanish ‘Guardia Civil’. The documents with it show that it was then registered in the UK in 1983 and was bought at the beginning of the 2000s by an English Citroën employee. According to the correspondence in the history file, its then owner started to restore the car, but had to sell it before buying it back in 2009 and completing the work a year later. The documents in the history file also suggest that one of the two engines was replaced at some point by a 602cc unit, but this discrepancy was put right and the car now has its correct two 425cc flat-twin engines. It was bought in 2012 by its last-but-one owner, a collector of 2 CVs of all kinds, and then in 2022 by its current owner.

Finished today in its original colour, the dark green used by the ‘Guardia Civil’, it has all the technical features specific to this original model, in particular its twin engines, fuel tanks beneath the front seats, cutaway rear wings, small vents set into the rear pillars and bonnet-mounted spare wheel.

The twin-engined 2 CV 4x4 was developed by Citroën at a time when France was carrying out oil exploration in the Sahara, hence the nickname it soon acquired, but its off-road abilities would also make it a vehicle appreciated by users living in mountainous areas. Today, it is a real curiosity and one of a kind; in addition, it is extremely rare, as only 693 were built from 1961–1967. All these characteristics make this the most sought-after 2 CV by enthusiasts throughout the world, and the example we are offering is a fine representative of the model, which has been restored with great care and respect for originality.

Photos © Stéphane Marie