Citroën Mehari At 55 Years Old, From The French Army To Cinema Screen Icon
The fantastic little Citroën is celebrating its 55 th anniversary this year. The Méhari first appeared on the 16th of May 1968 at the Deauville golf course, the first reveal of the car.
Citroën produced the Méhari from 1968 to 1987 and made 144,953 of them, most of them built at the factory in Forest, Belgium, of all places.
This wasn’t your typical all-terrain vehicle; Citroën’s approach was quite different. They set out to make the simplest and lightest vehicle they could. The modularity and practicality of the vehicle too were of great importance and because of this, it was relatively cheap to produce and buy.
The Méhari instantly became one of those iconic vehicles, not just for Citroën, but for the automotive world as a whole. It even had starring roles in French cinema and played a part in the French army.
It was an interesting time in France to launch the Méhari, the French student protest movement was well underway, and things weren’t terribly stable.
The new car was of course 2CV based, offering its usual flat twin powerplants, but this time there was more power, from 29 to 32 hp. The ABS, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, plastic body was designed by Roland de La Poype was actually built onto the platform of the newer Dyane 6 and was initially presented with the name Dyane 6 Méhari on release.
Out of the 144,953 produced there were 1,213 4x4s, making them somewhat popular at the time and now very rare and collectable. As already said, most of the Méhari’s were built in Belgium, but they were also built in seven other factories, in France, Spain and Portugal.
The name Méhari came from the masculine méhari which is given to dromedaries of North African and in the Sahara. These large desert animals are known for their off road ability, resistance, and sobriety.
Much like the animal namesake, the Méhari is capable of transporting goods and passengers over long distances and being able to adapt to all terrains. The small plastic car with its small engine is really capable.
You wouldn’t think it, as from the outside the Méhari really doesn’t look to be suitable for all seasons as it looks like a roofless pickup, but there is a winter cover that completely seals the car. However, the roof frame that sits on top and around the car allegedly takes some half an hour to assemble, meaning you’d probably put it on once…
This practicality was designed into the Méhari from day one, with part of the floor transforming into a backrest adding two more seats in the rear accommodating up to 4 passengers.
The body is made of 11 separate panels, each are easily repairable, or replaced, and cheaply too. The whole car can be cleaned by spraying water inside and out. The ease of maintenance and the low running costs made the Méhari a very economical choice for customers.
For many the Méhari is a childhood memory, the car was a neat piece of design and featured some innovative design with modern materials.
Citroën Mehari 55 Years Video
This practicality was designed into the Méhari from day one, with part of the floor transforming into a backrest adding two more seats in the rear accommodating up to 4 passengers.
The body is made of 11 separate panels, each are easily repairable, or replaced, and cheaply too. The whole car can be cleaned by spraying water inside and out. The ease of maintenance and the low running costs made the Méhari a very economical choice for customers.
For many the Méhari is a childhood memory, the car was a neat piece of design and featured some innovative design with modern materials.
The Méhari was of great interest to public bodies, such as the police, customs, airports, and racecourses. But many small businesses found them useful, with shopkeepers, craftsmen and of course, private individuals.
The French army took to the Méhari which bought a total of 11,457 of them between 1972 and 1987.
It also found a career with medical assistance and in 1980 where ten 4×4 Méharis were chartered to provide medical assistance along the route of the Paris Dakar.
Finally, the Méhari had a great film career, especially due to the film Le gendarme de Saint Tropez with Louis de Funès.
I’ve always wanted one, and I could get a new one, they make them still, the Méhari 2CV Club Cassis do. Even an electric one.
Citroën Mehari 4x4 Film By Claude Caillet
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