(first posted 2/6/2015) The Citroen Visa is a car with a history involving three prominent European brands, a back story period of over ten years, an unusual configuration and an ancestor that was one of the most well known cars in the world. For a car so compact, this is quite a big story.
In the early 1960s, Citroen was a company with a most unusual model range. Essentially, there were two car products – the inimitable Citroen 2CV, and the very different and also inimitable Citroen ID/DS family. Both were cars that were unique in their relevant sectors – the 2CV was perhaps the most basic, but also one of the most ingeniously executed cars, on the market; the DS was also ingeniously executed, but was far from basic. In fact, it was the most complex and technically accomplished car on the planet. In between these cars, there was nothing.
In 1961, Citroen prepared the Ami 6 (above), which was effectively a big brother for the 2CV. Conceptually it was very similar, with a flat twin 602cc engine, and a body and suspension that followed the 2CV’s practice. What it was not was a car that was similar to anything else, except the 2CV and Renault’s 2CV competitor, the Renault 4.
Then in 1967, Citroen, at that time owned by the Michelin tyre company, entered a partnership with Fiat, including Michelin selling a 49% share of Citroen to Fiat and the sharing of distribution channels. Citroen also entered agreements with NSU and Maserati, leading to access to the NSU Wankel engine and the Maserati-engined Citroen SM respectively, and bought the truck builder Berliet.
Photo from citroenet.org.uk
As the 1960s progressed, the format of the compact European car started to crystallise around the front engine, front-wheel drive configuration. By 1970, BMC, Renault, Peugeot, Simca and Fiat were all building cars to this template and of these, only Renault persisted with the longitudinal engine. The partnership with Fiat allowed Citroen access to the engineering behind cars like the Fiat 127 and 128, and with the apparent convergence of format the choice of the Fiat 127 as a basis for car to replace the Ami. Project Y was fairly straightforward.
Project Y was a compact hatchback, built on a Fiat 127 (above) platform, with a wheelbase of around 93 inches, around 5 inches longer than the Fiat and– unusually for this class at this time–five doors. The styling, by Robert Opron, is clearly related to the eventual Visa, even if it was not yet fully formed.
Photo from citroenet.org.uk
So, the format for the car was set. A lengthened Fiat 127 platform, with either a Citroen flat twin or Fiat four-cylinder engine set transversely with the end on gearbox, and torsion bar suspension.
In 1974, Michelin sold Citroen. With French government encouragement, the cars went to Peugeot and the Berliet trucks to Renault. Peugeot quickly acted to bring Citroen into line – the SM was discontinued and the car families were progressively brought together on common platforms.
The Fiat basis for Project Y was quickly dropped. In 1972, Peugeot had launched the 104 (above) which was (unusually for its class) available as a four door saloon, albeit with a hatchback profile. Under the code Project VD (Voiture Diminuee, or very small car) Citroen adapted this platform, and the Peugeot 1124cc engine with the transmission underneath, Issigonis/BMC style, for the Visa. The Fiat-based suspension was dropped, to leave what was basically a 104 with the late 1960s Robert Opron-styled body, with the option of the Citroen flat twin as a base model. Suspension was by MacPherson struts at the front and trailing arms with coil springs at the rear, and Citroen were able to retain the long travel required to get the true Citroen ride experience.
Peugeot, however, let Citroen be Citroen with the interior. The usual minor controls were replaced by a drum to the side of the steering wheel, which contained the controls for the lights, wipers, indicators and horn, all within finger’s reach from the wheel. On the other side were simple, sliding heater controls.
A typical 1970s single-spoke Citroen steering wheel gave full visibility of the instruments, even if you had to put your hand through the wheel to reach various minor switches. Undoubtedly, it was the most interesting or ugliest supermini interior of the time, depending on your point of view……
The car launched in September 1978. Size wise, it was within touching distance of the Golf Mk1/Rabbit, although a little narrower. Engine options comprised the air-cooled 652cc Citroen flat twin and the water-cooled 1124cc Peugeot OHC four, which was more powerful but in practice almost as economical.
The car was aerodynamically efficient, helping economy and cruising ability; crosswind stability was good as well, and the large curved windscreen was cleared by just one large wiper.
But the key assets this car had were space and comfort. It was larger than, say, a Ford Fiesta or Austin Metro but often cheaper, and with that suspension it offered a ride few cars this side of a Jaguar could match…remarkable at the price.
Perhaps the biggest barrier for the Visa was its looks. Of course, these are always subjective and I have no issue with the original styling (and, especially, the interior), but the consensus is that the looks posed a challenge to many.
In 1981, Citroen presented a revised Visa, with a new front grille and bumper and similar revisions at the rear. The great Citroen interior was kept until 1985, when it was replaced by something much calmer. Sales increased, from 117,000 in 1980 to 179,000 in 1981, so perhaps I have a minority taste…
The feature car is a 1986 Visa 11E, with the revised nose and calmer interior. It also represents a type of small car typical of France, being classified for commercial use with a more basic interior (typically the rear seats would be removable, for example) and recognised by the authorities accordingly. The key spotting point is the plate behind the front wheel, with the weight and load limits.
In 1983, Citroen widened the range of the Visa, in two perhaps surprising directions. Citroen commissioned Heuliez to produce a convertible version, known as the Decapotable. Heuliez, now defunct, was a French company based on the design and limited quantity production of a range of conversions and adaptations for many manufacturers. A French Karmann, if you like. Heuliez were also commissioned for the 1981 facelift.
The resulting conversion retained the door frames of the hatchback, and added a fabric roof that mimicked that of the 2CV, back to the top of the boot lid below the rear window. Power came from the 1124cc Peugeot engine.
Perhaps more surprising were the Citroen Visa GT, and later GTi, with a range of engines, varying by market. The 1983 GT had a 1360cc 80 bhp engine, shared with various Peugeots and the Citroen BX, but this was trumped by the 1985 GTi, with a 1580cc, 115 bhp engine from the Peugeot 205GTi that offered 120 mph and less than 9 seconds to 60 mph, and was identified by spoilers and twin headlamps. Somehow, you just know that Robert Opron and Michelin were not thinking of a car like that in 1968.
The other well remembered Visas are the diesel engine variants. The early 1980s were the years of awakening to much of Europe of the effectiveness of diesel power in a compact car, and this car was a great example of this. Citroen fitted a 1769cc four-cylinder Peugeot XUD7 engine, which had 60 hp, the same as the 1360cc gas engine, and slightly more torque, given the larger displacement. These cars had some similarities to the 2CV: Great flexibility and versatility and a soft, comfort-oriented suspension combined with good road holding and light weight to give it similar ground-covering abilities, as well as strong operating economy.
Like the 2CV, the Visa had a van derivative, known as the C15, featuring the front end of a Visa mated with the rear suspension of the larger BX hatchback, but with conventional springing. The load area was based on a box, just like the 2CV, and similarly versions with windows, a basic rear seat and a lengthened wheelbase were offered. The first series of vans sold in the UK were either red or white, and were marketed as “Van Rouge” or “Van Blanc”. Say it with your best French accent and you’ll get the joke.
Diesel engines were used exclusively, and a chassis cab variant offered potential for many other uses, from a small pickup to even a compact motorhome.
These vans were in production until 2005 and over 1.1 million were built, in addition to 1.25MM cars. That’s not a bad run.
Citroen also considered a saloon (sedan) version of the Visa, and got as far as a prototype. This was better integrated aesthetically than many similar cars, such as the saloon version of the 1985 Vauxhall Nova/Opel Nova or the VW Derby, which was based on the first VW Polo. However, it was not put into production, and in reality would have been of more interest outside France than within it. The market for such cars within Europe varies by region – northern Europe will opt for a hatchback, while southern Europe (Greece, Italy and Spain) and territories further east, such as the Balkan states, may take a saloon.
One final twist to the Visa story is the Chinese connection. Citroen did not sell or license the Visa to a Chinese manufacturer, but that did not stop Wuling from producing this Wuling LZW 7100, with a Daihatsu engine, in limited quantities from 1991-1993.
In both its heritage and production development, the Citroen Visa was a very different form of Citroen. Never before had Citroen shared the engineering or power unit for a car in this way, nor gone for performance or convertible options in such a manner. Competing against cars 6-9 inches shorter in wheelbase, perhaps a foot shorter and still offering a value for money package, it was also a different sort of supermini.
And Project Y? That became, after a long and tortuous process, the Oltcit, built in Romania and sold in some western European markets as the Citroen Axel.
Related reading:
CC Citroen ID/DS: The Goddess Storms The Bastille of Convention
CC 1969 Citroen 2CV: The Most Original Car Ever
When I was a wee small boy, the son of a neighbour had a white GTI. I still think this looks fantastic, especially with the quad headlights. A GTI saloon/sedan would have looked amazing, very gaillic. A late model GTI is up there with the Peugeot 505 GTI on my French wanted list. Also on that list is the Renault 21 Turbo Quadra, and a BMW Boxer powered 2CV.
I don’t know, but I would not be surprised if the C 15 Van is the most produced model.
These were really great little vans, especially with the 1.9 liter Diesel.
Very interesting story! Visas were popular in Chile, and the C15 vans were sold until the end, so they are still very common. I was shocked to realize the C15 was based on the Visa. Such an old car, living for so many more years thanks to its van version.
“Undoubtedly, it was the most interesting or ugliest supermini interior of the time, depending on your point of view……”
Can the answer be both?
I know that kick up at the rear was the Citroen look, but it just seems awkward with the square bumper. I think the prototype sedan works better.
Yeah, I’m with Dan, I find it both very interesting and also very ugly at the same time. Can everything on the “drum” be reached and used with a fingertip without letting go of the wheel? Great execution if that’s the case.
I’m on the same page. I see what they were doing with the exterior and I don’t mind it in principle, but the details of the design are unsatisfying, which makes it look unfinished and clumsy.
I recall something I read in an interview with the designer Bill Porter, talking about the importance of draftsmanship in car design: recognizing how subtle shifts in proportion or line can determine how good a design looks. The Visa really needed that kind of touch.
Thanks for another fine read Roger.My brother had a green one (can’t remember the year) as a winter runabout when he became too old to ride a motorbike in winter.Very reliable although it was beginning to have rust problems.
These were light years ahead of the BL abominations and the rust prone Chevette of the late 70s.
Sweet. I got to ride in a Visa extensively during the summer of 1984, when I lived with a family in Germany that owned one. It seemed like a competent city car to me, but the one time we took it briefly onto the Autobahn I felt extremely vulnerable in it, and it could positively not keep up with most traffic.
This car was un-American in every conceivable way. It remains a key memory of my European experience.
My eldest cousin José María had one of those (Visa II, however), locally built in Vigo (Galicia, Spain). He was not fond of it because the car had little stability on the road, or so he said. Quoting him, it was “a huge can of sardines”. It was also sold with a 1360cc engine that made the car peppy, that’s the version my cousin had, the TRS.
(Incidentally, my first car was a Peugeot 205 with the same engine – it was excellent).
I always thought the car looked ankward and they were quite bad overall. Besides the C15 which seems indestructible, I haven’t seen a Visa for years, and they used to be very common.
If you can read Spanish, you can read the period report from a magazine here: http://www.pruebas.pieldetoro.net/web/pruebas/ver.php?ID=465.80
That top photo of the Visa looks like a badly kit-bashed Dodge Omni!
Thank you Roger. I really like the camper.
The camper looks a bit like a Toyota Chinook.
The C15 van is my favorite. It looks a bit fragile, mainly due to the skinny wheels (the body seems to float on top of them), but it was a tough little diesel van that just soldiered on and on.
A horticulturist nearby had a white C15 for a very long time. He used it as if it were an off-roader (perfect ground clearance !) and towed a trailer with it when necessary. Now he has an old beaten-up Unimog.
Some information about the Visa rally versions, together with the bat-**** mental BX 4TC Group B car:
http://groupbrally.com/?page_id=10
Sweet looking car. I’ve heard of the Citroen Visa, and I’ve seen pictures of the Visa, but I’ve never seen one in person.
I think I have seen and know less about France and it’s vehicles than anywhere with the possible exception of India. An interesting read.
After reading the CC on the Twingo, and now this Visa, I’m inclined to agree. It’s refreshing to learn of these unique, creative, interesting small French cars, and I hope Roger, Gerardo, and others have more to share with us.
Very nice, Roger, as always! I really enjoyed the picture of the convertible with the camping trailer. Here that itty-bitty trailer would seemingly demand an F150 tow rig at a minimum. With the large engine. The convertible is just the icing on the cake.
I recall seeing these all over the place as a kid. Living near the French border region I think we may have gotten more French cars in the neighborhood than the norm. Not bad looking, certainly in tune with the times if not even a bit avant garde.
Yeah, Citroens were always avant garde. Thats why I like them.
+1
Nice .
I had an early Citroen 2CV AZ (a 1959 IIRC) and it was a pretty good car if a total death trap and prolly unsafe on the American Freeways I drove it on .
When I was younger , I’d bought one of these vans had they been sold in America .
French cars in general are really weird to Americans but once you get past that , they’re very good indeed , I’ve owned a few and worked on many .
The French simply don’t care how any one else does anyth9ing =8-) .
-Nate
Odd little cars, which is par for the course with Citroen. I actually quite like the unusual interior, but I’ve never warmed up to the styling of these cars. Homely little things.
The convertible is a very unexpected surprise! That has to be one of the very few 4-door convertibles produced by the original manufacturer since the 60’s (even if the actual conversion was farmed out). Even with the door frames, I quite like it. Wonder how the structural rigidity was (or wasn’t?)
I agree these are odd little cars, but with a charm that can only be French. I do rather like them, esp. the convertible version. But that name! — Decapotable – first thing that came to mind was decapitate, ugh! Is that Gallic (gallows) humour?
Not a true convertible per se. Compares to the Kaiser Virginian and the early 50s Rambler convertibles in that the side and window framing is intact while only the top rolls down. Citroen had a feaure like this on their 2CVs, and it seemed to be sucessful.Its possible that the designer beefed up windshield frame and the car underneath to improve structural intgegrity.Cool car though, I`d love to own one.
Interesting little French Golf. The availability of both a water and air cooled engine is a unique idea. The Van is really good looking and the mini motorhome is also a neat little machine. With the diesel engine it must get really good mileage. The rear wheel cut out, although a Citroen trademark does really detract from it’s styling. Nice write up.
The proximity of the reversing and fog lights to their respective pairs is another particularly delightful feature of the mark 1
I came across this one, a C15 flatbed truck.
I drove an ancient mark 1 back when I was in uni. The model with the 2cv 2 cylinder engine. Once you got off the line it did not seem to matter what gear you were in (it had 4 I think) because there was at best about zero thrust from the tiny engine and it was impossible to “turn off the sound” by shifting to a higher gear since it did not make a dent in the pretty hefty noise level coming from the engine. I think you could move the gear lever about 2 inches left and right and probably up and down as well while it was in gear. I don’t think I ever found out nor utilized all the different things that pod on the left of the steering wheel controlled. Ergonomic it wasn’t. My hobby of the time probably did not help much in that regard (hint it’s green and it’s not money). Great suspension to race down a field or thru a forest though, body lean of about 45 degrees in corners was a bit less well executed (for passengers) but that’s older french rides for you. I don’t think I have ever seen a left lane (here the left lane is the fast lane, slower traffic and trucks keep to the most right lane and we weave as well to overtake and such) in it, top speed was about 120kph or so, this was a tired old 2 cylinder and I did not wrench on it at all. Just gas and oil. It never stranded me.
edit
That Wuling mentioned is a LZW 7100 not a LXW 7100.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPSBp4X3C7Y
One of the ads was a Cannes Lions nominee back in the day.
It ain’t fair-the Europeans got this and we Americans got the Alliance!
I got to drive a used Renault Alliance, and I hated it. It was too small to be comfortable. Its transmission was difficult to shift without feeling fragile.
Super-tough little cars and with a surprising number still on French roads. If you come across one for sale – buy it If you want something fun to drive.
The saloon looks very good, but it’s probably a photoshop.
http://www.autoevolution.com/cars/citroen-visa-1981.html#agal_4
Maybe still unknown for Americans, if you truly love Citroen designs, do not miss to report the Citroen Axel a.k.a. known as Oltcit 11 RE : is the Citroen Visa only offered in 2 doors made in Romenia and it was a great machine indeed .
There is a 1982 Visa II Super 4-door currently for sale in Toronto, and according to the ad it is the only one in Canada. Looks great in red. It has a 1290 cc 4 cylinder petrol engine, 5-speed gearbox and a sun roof.
I know there is at least one C15 van in the U.S.
The so-called three box Visa is a Photoshop design. Citroën never contemplated such a design.