Citroen 2c.v.

One error and an omission occurred in the five-page road-test report on the little 375-c.c. Citroën 2 c.v. which was published in the April issue of Motor Sport.

Commenting upon the entire unconcern of the air-cooled engine when ascending long-hills in bottom gear, we remarked that at times such as these the presence of an “air-cooler” behind the fan was reassuring. For air-cooler please read “oil-cooler”! Incidentally, although a horizontally-opposed engine is normally a “difficult breather,” the tiny Citroën unit keeps remarkably clean and is fume-free, another tribute to its brilliant designer.

The omission was that, in remarking that if we had had to replenish the sump against a stop-watch the self-wiping dip-stick might have proved inconvenient, we added “see earlier,” but omitted in the opening section of the report to explain that a long rubber sleeve surrounding the easily accessible dip-stick tends to wipe off the oil, so that correct readings are not always obtained at the first attempt.

Although the Motor Sport road-test of the 2c.v. concluded officially after 2,075 miles, to date we have driven the little Citroën a total of 5,625 miles in 57 days. During this mileage it has received a minimum of maintenance attention and, apart from a desire to discard its speedometer (which was firmly re-secured in about half an hour with two new bolts and did not show any tendency thereafter to come loose) it has suffered only the very minor troubles detailed in our report. With no attention, the Lockheed brakes remain as powerful as when the test commenced. On one occasion while exploring the back-o’-beyond of North-East Hampshire the Citroën was defeated by wheelspin up a trials-type hill; although it slewed sideways and all wheels were deeply embedded in slime, judicious use of engine and steering brought the car out unaided from a situation which would have called for a horse or a tractor with a conventional car. — W. B.