Citroën Méhari

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Citroën
Citroën Méhari (1968–1987)
Citroën Méhari (1968–1987)
Mehari
Production period: 1968-1987
Class : Small car
Body versions : Beach wagon
Engines: Otto engine :
0.6 liters (22 kW)
Length: 3500 mm
Width: 1530 mm
Height: 1540 mm
Wheelbase : 2370 mm
Empty weight : 475-555 kg

The Citroën Méhari was an open leisure car with a plastic body from Citroën based on the Dyane . The name comes from the French expression for a racing dromedary .

history

From May 1968 to October 1987 a total of 144,953 Méhari were built, 1,213 of them with all-wheel drive (AYCE model).

An additional 15,000 Méhari and 5,000 four-wheel drive A4x4 versions with the more powerful engine of the Citroën Visa were produced for the French army . In Germany , Citroën did not offer the Méhari because it did not receive a general operating permit because of the flammable body parts made from the plastic acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) . However, the vehicles could be approved via individual approvals.

Citroën Méhari with the old body shape
Citroën Méhari with the new body shape
Citroën Méhari in US design

body

The plastic parts of the non-self-supporting body are riveted to a frame made of steel profiles. The floor pan with the rear wheel arches is the largest single part and extends from the front footwell to the rear.

Chassis and engine

The chassis of the front-wheel drive version with parallel swing arms (the front ones pushed, the rear ones pulled) is similar to that of the Dyane, and the air-cooled 2-cylinder boxer engine also comes from the Dyane.

With the all-wheel drive Méhari, the rear wheels are also driven via a cardan shaft. The engine of the civil version comes from the Dyane, in the military version it is the boxer engine from the Visa with aluminum cylinders and electronically controlled ignition.

  • Citroën Méhari with the windshield down

  • Citroën Méhari with open ...

  • ... and with the roof closed

  • Méhari with hard top made of plastic

  • dashboard

Similar models based on 2CV

In Germany there was the Fiberfab Sherpa with GFK body from Fiberfab body from Ilsfeld , a kit car similar to the Méhari on a 2CV basis. Since 2011, the Méhari has also been offered as a kit car by the Düsseldorf company Malzkorn. This kit called "El Cid" also consists of GRP.

In Greece was Namco Pony built and sold in Germany. Namco used box frame , chassis and engine of the 2CV, but a body made of sheet steel , which was similar to Méhari.

Such vehicles were also built in various other countries in the 1970s. So in Iran the Mehari , in the country of Ivory Coast the Baby Brousse , in Chile the Yagan , in Portugal and Indonesia the FAF and in South Vietnam the Dalat . Some of these vehicles were available in different versions, such as pick-ups with a closed driver's cab, shared taxis , ambulances and delivery vans or station wagons . What they all had in common was the platform of the Citroën 2CV and a body made of bent sheet steel that could be produced locally without expensive pressing tools.

Name successor

In 2016, Citroën launched the e-Méhari with an electric motor .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ https://www.fnp.de/lokales/hochtaunus/louis-funs-durch-taunus-10449444.html
  2. ↑ GTO - Das Auto Magazin. In: gto.at. Retrieved January 15, 2019 .

Web links

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