A tip from France: just go through everything with full power. Don't drive it so damn carefully like a modern SUV. It's meant to fly.

There has been a limited edition, called "Sahara" with a second motor in the back. So there was a four wheel drive off-road 2CV. 😁

Honestly the 2CV is one of the greatest cars ever. It’s simplicity is an engineering forte. No tech, just clever engineering that was designed to a cost so much lower than the budgets new cars have. Yet not one of the new cars will survive over 10 years without a major and very expensive failure which will most likely render it scrapped. Great video

Probably already mentioned but don't forget to take off your Winter Grill when its over 15C (59F) as you don't want to overheat the engine. It just unclips from the main grill.

My parents had one of these in the late fifties and went to Italy on vacation in it. The trick to tackling steep slopes is to reverse up them. Slightly lower gearing + more grip from the now rear wheels and Bob's your uncle! No problem!

Great little cars. They were actually designed in the 1930s before the Second World War. Several prototypes were hidden from the enemy during wartime in such places as within the roof structures of country houses and barns. Apparently, the design brief was to build a car that a driver wearing a top hat, could drive across a ploughed field without breaking any of the basketful of eggs being carried on the back seat. You just discovered that they were right! Thanks for your great review. I had a derivative some years back and I was sure that it could get pretty well anywhere and everywhere! Eventually!

I used to do trials for landrovers etc in my 2CV and it did fine. You can easily set ground clearance a little higher and with snow chains mounted it would go almost anywhere. Because of its light weight and extremely soft suspension it would tackle mud where a typical landrover would sink in up to the windows and I would just drive circles around them. Oh glorious 2CV!

Your one is a "Helios yellow" and black Charleston 2cv6 series, very rare, only built in 1983 (if genuine of course). An other thing, put the plastic piece off the nose of the car, as soon as external temperature raises 15° Celsius in order to avoid overheating of the engine. Take care of it, it's sincerely a great car. I personly own a 2cv6 Special, 1988, "Bleu Céleste", such a good old car.

The suspension has a very simple height adjustment that can be tuned without changing any parts. It doesn't change the stiffness of the ride either. I believe you can get them up to 30cm or 12 inches of ground clearance.

Had one, when I was a geology student in later 70s/early 80s. It never let me down in the field. Did most of the Alpine passes with it, including the 2850 m Col de la Bonnet in France (1st gear …). Went to ski resorts without winter tires - not a big deal with two guys and skiing gear. Probably the most comfortable seats of any car I had.

Thanks for sharing. Back in 1976 in the Netherlands may parents bought their first car (before that it was bicycles only for them and us kids). I remember it well. A bright green Citroen Dyane. That was the "upgraded" version of the 2CV. It had a straighter roof line to the back (more rear head room), a bigger 650cc engine and slide windows in the front instead of flip up windows (rear windows remained fixed). It would do around 65 mph on the highway, but only just. No power brakes, no power steering. Instruments were speedo, fuel level, turn indicator, hand brake indicator and high beam indicator. That's it. No radio (wouldn't have been able to head it over the noise in the car anyways). Up front it hd inboard brakes and the almost unimaginably small 650 cc 2 cylinder boxer engine. Stick shift in the dash. lots of body leans in turns, but the car would hang on with confidence. It was also the era when you could identify certain brands of cars from the sound of the engine. The small displacement Citroen engines have a very distinct sound /noise. Same for the VW air cooled boxes. By then most other cars had inline 4 engines, so those sounded mostly the same. Great memories. Thanks for sharing.

The creaking brakes were tripping me out. Multiple times, I thought it was my chair making those sounds.

My wife and have an 85 Charleston along with a collection of the hydraulic Cits (DS's/XM) - folks are amazed at how comfortable the 2CV is. It would be nice to see a D do the course having the ability to vary the ground clearance to just under 12". The joke among 2CV owners is all you need to carry is some 10 gauge wire, pliers, adjustable metric wrench and Duct Tape and can just about rebuild the entire car.

Mate: in the 70s a lot of kids started doing big road trips out of Europe, down and round the Med, round Africa and/or India and back. And it was a thing to paint a map on the vehicle door with a line showing the route completed. A lot of those vehicles passed back through Athens where I was. And 3 vehicle models appeared all the time, having made it all the way round those trips: VW beetles, Land Rovers, and Citroen 2CVs...............)

We need to see a TFL road trip with the 2CV, Mini, 500, and Bug. See which one can get the farthest without breaking down.

Great videos. Couple of suggestions: your rear suspension is too low. Set it to factory height, you’ll have much more clearance and the car will handle much better. Personal request : take that German plate off a French classic. They don’t match. I would find you a French plate here in Europe if you like authenticity. Again - enjoy your videos, best from Holland.

My brother has in Argentina a 1962 2CV, 14HP (I think the engine is a 425cm3) on light blue color. It's one of the funnest cars I've ever driven, suspension is amazing, the engine sound is funny and people love that car, so on any red light, someone will ask you for a photo. I’m sending him this video right now!

2CV (deux chevaux vapeur. Two steam horsepower (literal translation) ) meaning two taxable horsepower. Produced from 1948 - 1990 primarily as an simple, easy to maintain and cheap to run car for farmers. The long-travel suspension and light weight was designed to be driven across freshly ploughed fields.

I've had 2 of these and you really need to use more speed and not crawl over easy bumps. The chassis will handle it no problem.

I've had a number of 2CV6s over the years but my favourite remains the Dyane, which is a tarted-up 2CV. I've been in but never owned an Ami. They were great on unpaved roads and as TFL has demonstrated, in snow. At the other end of Citroën's range, I've had quite a number of the hydropneumatics too - I currently have the last model C5. While I understand the commercial rationale of Peugeot taming Citroën's outréness, I do miss the stuff from the 60s and 70s. Like Saab, it's a manufacturer that you either drive and hate, or drive and stick with. Let's hope the Oli concept marks the return of insanity to the Citroën personality.

I competed in production car trials in the 1980s. They laughed at my bright yell Citroen Dianne but I was runner up in the East Midlands Championship. Up yours.

Nice car. Wish Citroen could make cars like this again.

In the same vein, years ago I read an article about a guy who was driving from Pt. Barrow, Alaska, to the southern tip of South America in a Ford Model A. He chose that car for the ground clearance, the narrow tires and the simplicity of the mechanicals which made it easy for him to fix.

Can we talk about Brendon using his angelic power to push the car. Holy biscuits that was magnificent. And tommy amazing job bud. Love you guys I agree a road trip in the small cars with kase tommy and Brendon is needed. It might not be as adventurous but just wholesome fun

I've already mentioned it once, but I have to say it again... it's amazing how much you Americans don't know about manual transmissions... secondly, there's no need to drive a 2CV so slowly, you lose it on the run, and the Charleston's bodywork is quite strong to withstand the stress

It's an awesome car. It can tilt what fees like 45 degrees in the roundabout but all tires remain on the road. But I had bicyles with a thicker frame:) I have also totaled a 2CV with a scooter once. The scooter was repaired.

That car was designed just after the war precisely for off-road driving, when almost all the roads had been destroyed and there was no money and no arms to repair straight away. It was built with cheap materials, the mecanics is very simple, and with its big wheels you can get off anything. Here we use to say "la deuche, elle monte aux arbres!" ("the 2'C': It climbs at trees!")

The great thing about Peugeot/Citroen is they still tune the suspension for uneven terrain in some of their modern cars. My Peugeot Partner eats up gravel forestry trails and gets me to camping spots where I am the only 2 wheel drive car out there. The ground clearance isn't as good as a 2CV but it still has that soft suspension you just don't get on other modern cars.

Just do a search on KZfaq for "2CV le gendarme de saint tropez" and you will see what a 2CV can do. From an engineering standpoint it is exemplary of what can be done with a minimalistic approach to achieve the best set of functions to move between two points on any type of surface. You can push her, carry her, take her appart and rebuilt it when the road starts again.

My oldest sister has one of those. She loves its absolute simplicity. As a helicopter pilot she appreciates the ultra simple dash with only the speedometer and fuel gauge... Oh, and her mechanic bumped the power to 31 horse power..

Another tip when you go off road. When you want to go uphill and get no further because of a lack of grip, turn around and continue in reverse. It will go up like a goat!

I think you nailed it with your remark on the heavier right foot. I have driven (and seen these driven) these cars and when you boot them, they go over just about everything.

I would love to see you trying the old Fiat Panda 4x4 on that course! I repeat: the OLD Fiat Panda 4x4!

When the wheels slide you have more than enough power - you need grip. More weight on the wheels, for example. The 2CV was designed to be able to transport two persons, a bag of potatoes and a tray of eggs, without breaking any egg even when passing in the fields and on bad routes. By the way it seems that the 2CV and Ami6 are the only cars on the world able to scrap the body on the road with having all 4 wheels on the road...

In German, we called it ENTE (Duck). The French called it "deux Cheveaux" (two horses) as reference to the horsepower. The upper numberplate seems to be german btw. and judging from the colour, it might have been in postal service somewhere in germany

It is so funny, seeing them having so much fun with an cheap car, without all the crazy technique stuff of todays cars. In the 70s my aunt and uncle drove a 2 cv. It was so fun.

I grew up in California and my very first car was a used '61 Citroen ID-19. A few years later I bought a '67 DS-21, (a dealers car) then several years later I bought my last Citroen, a '69 DS-21. The '67 was the best of the three. The ride quality on these can't be beat.

Like the Renault 4L, they were very capable off road. But Citroen has long travel and that suspension system. Still goes to North Africa in 4l clubs from France cross Spain and enter Morocco. Fun Adventures 😃

To me it's like a French Model T meant to go off road and if you can get stuck you can just push it out

I love the way it looks and the engineering is wonderful. Would love to see manufacturers attempt such a thing with the new EV's. With all that weight of batteries it probably isn't possible, but would love to see something like this. Just excellent people oriented car.

Rode in a lot of these on streets of Tehran-dirt, paved, dry, wet, muddy, icy-never stuck, never a breakdown. Smooth, too.

I had one of these in the late 70s, as long as you weren't in a hurry it would go anywhere over anything. The big bonus is that you could strip most of the body panels off with basic hand tools and open it up like a tiny truck. I shifted full size refrigerators, stoves and such in mine many a time. However those inboard front brakes were a pain to change requiring a special tool to align them. I only got rid of mine because my wife-to-be could only drive an automatic and couldn't cope with the umbrella handle shifter.

Great video, in the 1980's I also drove a 2CV across the Sahara. Up to Tamanrasset in Algeria, the road is paved and from Arlit in Niger on the other side, so there is only about 400 miles of sand, most of which is fine to drive on apart from the bump corrugations!

My dad had a pretty remarkable story about offroading with a 2CV: He an a buddy of his, who owned the 2CV (this was back in the late 80s in Europe, so this was his daily driver), had a meeting with the local forseter. Now I can't remember what it was about, but it involved driving through the forest to get to some location. The route went up an incline, and since it had rained fairly substatialy for the privious couple days, it was drenched with mud. Now the forester drove (iIrc) a Suzuki Jimmny, and had quite some trouble getting up, despite 4WD, off-road tires and locked diff. digging through the mud until they found that needed grip and proppelling the 2CV up that hill like a rocket sled on rails.

I am in the UK, nearly 77, and we owned 2 of these nearly 40 years ago, plus the Diane version. We have such happy memories, like on holiday in Devon with our 2 young sons, dingy, surfboard, etc, sticking out of the roof, we are now seeking one as a 2nd, fun, car. Indestructible, still as practical and economical now as in the days of its conception. Totally insane, I know, but we can all dream, can't we? They are now going for £20k, but good ones going for about half that - if prepared to travel. Thanks for confirming how special these little cars are, especially coming with their economy, ride, spare wheel, starting handle, height-adjustable headlights, all bolt-on panels, soft top, etc.

3:43 You didn't run out of power, you ran out of traction, that's one issue that front wheel drive cars have when climbing hills in slick conditions. The front drive wheels are unloaded when driving up.

Reminded how early American cars - Model T - we essentially SUVs/UTVs as many roads were not paved at the time, muddy and rutted

In the late '80's we spent 6 weeks in North and West Africa with 2 Volkswagen Beetles, and halfway in the Sahara desert (which is slightly bigger than North America!) in a place called Tamanrasset, there was a car graveyard with many broken 2 CV's. Two Dutch guys who also had to left there 2 CV's behind, say it started first with heavyer steering. So its better not to go serious offroad without a reinforced frame.

That’s also called TIN SNAIL here in Europe. You can get rid of that squealing in your brakes by adding some Copper Grease to the back of the brake pads (between the pad and brake cylinder).

Love it! You even have the original Michelin ZX tires on! There's some iconic basic cars: The 2CV, Beetle, MINI and Fiat 500 - The Originals! None of all new cars have as much character as these! Gladly I owned some.

My two friends, twin brothers from Croatia have a 4WD CV2. They went from Croatia to Kazakhstan and back, of course by that thing. To see a football match... That thing is simply incredible off-road. It is very light and it has outstanding articulation.

Ha ha I love how he’s just shaking it at the start of the video!!🤣

As a youngster, my friends and I piled into a friends 2CV and taking it up to a disused airfield to hoon around in it, trying to roll the damn thing. Nope, 2CV's are a rock. It really does showcase how certain development in cars are prioirtised when you look at current 'basic' models and it is all about comfort rather than practical.

The next time, you have to try the 4x4 2CV. Called the Sahara version. Not too many produced and fetching insane prices nowadays. These were built with 2 engines, one in the front, one in the back.

Wonderful Citroen CV2. One of the best cars ever built. 👌

Brings back super fond memories. These vehicles are amazing off road, with such an amazing ride.... but don't do any jumps. I broke the frame on a 2CV Cargo after a few long sailing jumps on a sandy wavy beach road. A quick visit to the welding shop, however, brought it back to spec. Another tip...on old 2CVs, the gas pedal sometimes get stuck - always drive bare feet so you can curl your toes over the pedal and pull it back to safety. I loved the look, the ride, the sound, the amazing comfortable (and simple) seats, the sunroof, the shifting, and so much more about these cars. 🙂

My uncle owned a Duck (as we call it in Germany). He used to load us children into the back and then swerve left and right on a side road, making us roll from one side to the other. I have very fond memories of the 2CV and think it is one of the best engineered and simply best cars ever built. As a teen, I dreamt of putting a powerful motorbike engine into one and then make Porsche drivers weep at the traffic lights and on winding roads...:).

There are some videos of 2CV rally cars, and the cornering angles are so crazy that you can't help but laugh. These are real crowd pleasers.

It didn't run out of power going up that slope, it ran out of grip. The secret with an FWD drive in situations like that it to reverse up. That puts much more of a load on the driven wheels.

My first car in France when I was 18 back in '69, and it was a '55 model. You needed the xtra HP because you're a bit shy at driving the thing and you're far from exploring the beginning of it's abilities. I reckon it's normal when you sit at the wheel of such a beautiful and shiny unit of this piece of pure Citroën's genius. You don't want the smallest scratch ruining this splendid yellow!

Yeah the 2CV's suspension is incredible. Props to Paul Magès who designed it at the time. He also designed the DS's suspension later.

The horn for the brakes is pretty cool

I want my 2cv back! it eventually rusted its way out of existence despite being welded many times, but I loved that little car so much.

You did not run out of power, you ran out of grip. A little left foot braking just might have done the trick ;-)

I had the burgundy Charleston paint job on my Deux Chevaux back in the in 1980s. The suspension was designed to go across a furrowed field with a basket of eggs in the passenger seat without breaking an egg. That hill was perfectly possible if you'd geared down. I had to learn that early in driving mine.

I had one in the early nineties and took it off road regularly. 🙂👍👍

Citroën never thought the 2CV would be anything other than a simple, cheap fix to get the impoverished rural French folk of the 1930s on the road. Remember, it was designed BEFORE WW2!. The expectation was that they would move to better and higher end cars as soon as possible. And yet, it's 2023 and there are 2CV fans all over the world, including in markets like the US where the 2CV was never officially sold! That's a truly amazing achievement. Among the many cheap entry-level cars produced throughout the decades, only the VW "Beetle" attained the same level of cult following.

You mentioned it should have had 31 hp. Its close relatives the Dyane and Acadiane did get 31 hp (compared to the 2CV's 29 hp) from the same engine by the simple addition of supercharging. A pipe from the cowling of the cooling fan fed air directly into the air intake resulting in the extra 2 hp. Perhaps you should try one of those and feel the power! (The motorbike story has been fairly thoroughly debunked as a publicity stunt.)

There are lots of 'kit cars' based on the 2CV, Lomax was the most popular. Citroen even built a race car based on them for a year in the 60's with massively oversized chrome lined barrels. My ex father in law raced one in a classic class around 30 years ago, it was refereed to as 'the rolling chicane' by everyone. I remember helping take the factory fibreglass body off to do some work on it. I'm sure it weighed more than the original car.

The simplicity of the 2CV was simply ingenious.

My mother had a Charlston 2CV we rushed in every weather through the austrian alps. was a great car, reminds me of my childhood and teenager years

Hello, great video ! i had the exact same 2cv Charleston yellow and black from 1982. I confirm this is the best car ever ! More than a car it is a lifestyle ( Hope the translation worked 😉)

Funny that there is a german license plate..."FÜ" is Fürth, the neighbor town of Nürnberg. 2 CV means 2 chevaux, english 2 horses which was the tax to pay for in france where the car did come from

..its always so much fun seeing you guys from the colonies being surprised that almost everything was and is better coming from Europe!

A few million Frenchmen would find this performance no surprise at all....

The 2CV are a part of my childhood and i was driving my fathers 2CV to practice for my carlicense. My father also owned to Citroen AMI 8 that are more modern 1970s version based on the same concept.

Félicitations for your French accent when you said Citroen !! Citroen was made with one aim : transport eggs in panier without broken outside a road. Job is done. This is a mythic car here in France. Very happy to see one in test in land of car … USA 😊

My mum had one and when it snowed it was unstoppable, you have to drive them hard they won’t tire ,foot to floor all the time 😊

In early 90s, I was stationed in Germany, and a German friend of mine had two of these, 1 of which he drove around the world, getting him in the Guiness Book of World Records.

Right out of "For Your Eyes Only"! 😎

I had a 2CV back in the eighties with snow tyres and it went every where. My first time off roading was on a local Byway, there was 9 of us in a 2CV on a savage sandy track and it handled it fine.

Found one of those parked on a mountain track where even 4x4 vehicles can easily get stuck. Impressive car.

An other thing is yes it lacks power to climb certain hills... but you can always push it to get it away. It's light enough that someone who's not particularly strong (or multiple people for that matter) can get it out of trouble, you don't find yourself with a unmovable stone if it gets stuck. So less necessity to be towed to get out of a bad spot.

This takes me back to when my dad had a 1950 Desoto sedan. The thing was at least 12 " off the ground. He had studded tires for winter,and it NEVER got stuck in snow. At worst,you might have to rock it when starting in a snow drift. Dad's main ride,a 1970 Cutlass,would regularly get stuck in the back alley,and I would have to hoof it there with a snow shovel to get him going again.

I loved my 2CV. I had loads of fun in it especially in summer.

You said 'Citroën' quiet well!

Excellent car! The Britishes deserve it!

Guys check out the motorcycle, the french man built from a broken down 2CV 🤯 What a genius! To be fair ... he is a french engineer... but still!

I had a 2cv and a dyanne, I actually fell in love with their quirks,Great fun having to thrash them everywhere and judge your revs to get optimum power.

I am running in a Burton Big Bore 652 cc 2CV7 1990 Charleston with a Power Tube... 4,000 rpm max for first, 1,000 kms; 5,000 rpm for the next 2,000 kms, then 6,000 rpm... 29 hp becomes 33 hp but 20% more torque... Potentially 75 mph - 120 kph.... Wahoo.. I will no longer be able to use the line... "But Officer, what about my credit for all the uphills when I cannot reach the speed limit".

Tommy and Brendan (sp?) are a comedic duo 😊

I own a 2CV. Momentum and keeping high rpms are key. You've got a beautiful one there. Keep it well maintained.

Nothing here that I couldn't have done in my old '64 Beetle I used to abuse in Alaska when I was a teenager, maybe give one of those a try on this course too.

Wow,that is really one of a kind, Sir. You know how to spell "Citroën" properly - impressive! In Germany, where I live, people often rend to pronounce it in a "French", but wrong pattern. Forgive me if I can't properly spell in letters how Germans speak that out, but you'd immediately burst in laughter once you heard that. Which is a shame especially considering that the US are an ocean away but France is in my neighorhood... ;-)

I have gone up steep hills in a 2CV even with several people in the car. All you need is momentum. 😁

8:16 the later Citroen Visa (which was already peugeot based, but available with the 2cv engine) had 32hp, thanks to minor tuning and electronic ignition. There are easily available kits to bump the engine from 602 to 652cc.

The autocross racers used studed snow tires here. (There were 2CV-Cross competions for a while here, but that was the 1970ies)

1CV is a cool little car. I'd like to see you try that course in a Model T too. They were crazy-capable off road too.

This is exactly how I felt getting to drive my friends MK1 Panda 4x4, lightweight, yet very capable

looking forward to test a citroen mehari