Citroën Bijou

Citroën
Citroën Bijou 1961
Bijou
Production period:	1959-1964
Class :	Small car
Body versions :	Coupe
Engines:	Otto engine : 0.4 liters (8.8 kW)
Length:	3962 mm
Width:	1549 mm
Height:	1168 mm
Wheelbase :	2388 mm
Empty weight :	605 kg

The Bijou was the English Citroën -Werk Citroën UK self-developed and built from 1959 to 1964 small car with a plastic body. The two plus two-seater coupé was specially designed for the United Kingdom and also produced in the local Citröen plant in Slough , west of London.

The idea was to be able to offer the more conservative British customers a modern and pleasantly designed small car in addition to the unconventional Citroën 2CV . From the 2CV the Bijou received the chassis with running gear, the air-cooled two-cylinder boxer engine with 425 cm³ displacement and 8.8 kW (12 hp) at 3500 rpm and the four-speed manual transmission (3 + overdrive). This enabled the Bijou to reach a top speed of around 90 km / h and was therefore faster than the 2CV with the same technical basis, despite its significantly larger curb weight.

A special feature was the five-part body made from glass fiber reinforced plastic . In contrast to the Trabant, for example, it was a body made entirely of plastic, without a steel frame. The only exceptions were a few metal reinforcement parts on the A-pillar and the chassis, which was taken over from the 2CV. The advantage of being rustproof was offset by around 33% higher manufacturing costs compared to the 2CV.

Unlike the 2CV, the hood can be opened to the front. The rear is in the style of the Citroën DS . The designer of the small coupé is Peter Kirwan-Taylor, who also designed the Lotus Elite in 1957 . Whitson & Co manufactured the bodies, numbered them starting with the number 100 and delivered them to the nearby Citroën plant in Slough, where they were placed on the chassis of the 2CV. Although many parts have been removed from the plant's shelves for manufacture such as: B. lamps, indicators, electrics, door handles, window cranks and the single-spoke steering wheel, the windscreen was not identical to a rear window from the Safari called Citroën DS Break, as has been repeatedly claimed , but was specially made for the Bijou. The same applies to the aluminum bumpers.

When the jewel hit the market in 1959, it was priced at £ 674 . At the same time, with a very long wait, there was, for example, a larger and more powerful Ford Anglia 100E than the Ford Popular for £ 494 , and the newly released Austin Mini was also cheaper than the Bijou. In addition, Lucas' electrics did not work reliably.

So it came about that the jewel was a failure for Citroën. When the Citroën plant in Slough was closed in 1964, only 210 copies and two prototypes of the Bijous had left the plant. In 2016, 150 of these were still registered with owners in the British 2CV register, with fewer than 40 reported as ready to drive. A few jewels found new owners outside of Great Britain, so two approved jewels and one under restoration are known in Germany.

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Web links

Commons : Citroën Bijou  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• The jewel on Citronet
• The jewel on a motor base

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Small car with plastic body. In: Motor vehicle technology 07/1962, p. 293.