Photo: Caselani
Citroen and Italian coachbuilder Caselani have joined forces to pay a beautiful tribute to the legendary 2CV Fourgonnette, an iconic van that gathered a loyal following among motorists with its various iterations.
The new vehicle is based on the current Citroen Berlingo and takes styling cues from the 2CV Fourgonnette AU (U for “Utility”) launched in 1951. The result of the collaboration is a retro-bodied work truck that preserves all the modern assets of the current Berlingo in terms of architecture, loading capacities, on-board technologies, and road performance, but the design specifications take us down the memory lane and bring back the charm of the 2CV van into the present day.
“We are extremely proud that our best-selling Berlingo has been revisited by Caselani, drawing inspiration from the iconic 2CV Fourgonnette, which left its mark on both Citroën’s history and that of the automotive sector more widely,” Pierre Leclercq, the head of styling for Citroen, has stated.
The conversion kit for the Berlingo, which will be marketed by Caselani under an official license from Citroen, includes a completely overhauled front-end panel, a big flared M-shaped grille boasting the Citroen crest, large hooded headlights - much like on the original truck, along with corrugated sheet metal on the sides, rear, and roof sections. There are also fiberglass elements, like the new grille, bumper, and wheel arches.
Caselani and Citroen installed small oval windows at the back of the vehicle to reminisce the original 2CV, but the thick seals surrounding them are now gone to give the Berlingo a more modern look.
All these redesigned components are assembled by hand in the coachbuilder’s workshops in Sospiro, Italy, and the entire process takes about 400 working hours.
Production of the redesigned Fourgonnette is set to begin in January 2023, but the company will start taking orders on October 1. It will be offered as an “M” sized commercial vehicle for professionals, with a leisure version also planned for carrying people. The “M”-sized variant will feature 4.4 square meters (47 square feet) of load space, which is about three times more than the original van, and up to a tonne of hauling capacity.
The retro-bodied Berlingo will be available with gas, diesel, or electric powertrains.
Fabrizio Caselani worked with designer David Obendorfer on styling the new Fourgonnette, which completes Citroen’s range of Caselani-designed vans. The two have previously collaborated on the Type H based on the Citroen Jumper in 2017 and the Type HG for Jumpy/SpaceTourer in 2020.
“We are extremely proud that our best-selling Berlingo has been revisited by Caselani, drawing inspiration from the iconic 2CV Fourgonnette, which left its mark on both Citroën’s history and that of the automotive sector more widely,” Pierre Leclercq, the head of styling for Citroen, has stated.
The conversion kit for the Berlingo, which will be marketed by Caselani under an official license from Citroen, includes a completely overhauled front-end panel, a big flared M-shaped grille boasting the Citroen crest, large hooded headlights - much like on the original truck, along with corrugated sheet metal on the sides, rear, and roof sections. There are also fiberglass elements, like the new grille, bumper, and wheel arches.
Caselani and Citroen installed small oval windows at the back of the vehicle to reminisce the original 2CV, but the thick seals surrounding them are now gone to give the Berlingo a more modern look.
All these redesigned components are assembled by hand in the coachbuilder’s workshops in Sospiro, Italy, and the entire process takes about 400 working hours.
Production of the redesigned Fourgonnette is set to begin in January 2023, but the company will start taking orders on October 1. It will be offered as an “M” sized commercial vehicle for professionals, with a leisure version also planned for carrying people. The “M”-sized variant will feature 4.4 square meters (47 square feet) of load space, which is about three times more than the original van, and up to a tonne of hauling capacity.
The retro-bodied Berlingo will be available with gas, diesel, or electric powertrains.
Fabrizio Caselani worked with designer David Obendorfer on styling the new Fourgonnette, which completes Citroen’s range of Caselani-designed vans. The two have previously collaborated on the Type H based on the Citroen Jumper in 2017 and the Type HG for Jumpy/SpaceTourer in 2020.
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