Let's go back to it for a moment museum of Henri Malartre, who started collecting special things as a scrap dealer in Lyon. In response to our article about this museum, additional information came from Marc Miettaux, who drew our attention to the special prototype of the “Citroën-Deux” which is in the museum.
Citroën Prototype 2CV TPV 1939
Museum information: This model is a pre-war design of a modified model of the Citroën-Deux saved from demolition by Henri Malartre. On our free website (with an article about youngtimers, classics and oldtimers on 2 or 4 wheels almost every day), Henk responded with additional information about the history of this French voiture.
Henk: “Not so long ago, three prototypes of the Duck were found in a hayloft, somewhere in northern France, I believe. One of them ended up at an auction where there was plenty of bidding. In the end, two tenacious bidders remained: Michelin, the tire factory that owned at the time Citroën after his bankruptcy, and Renault, out of sympathy for André Citroën with whom they had a healthy rivalry… and a bicycle dealer. The bidding was fierce and in the end the hammer fell on the final bid… from the bicycle repairman”.
Quests
Due to the enthusiasm, we went looking for more information and found a driving test in the Autochampion from the 50s. The reactions to the special appearance are just too nice not to pay attention to it again:
“Some say: 'Very ugly!' The answer? "It doesn't matter, it's a real utility vehicle." It is, as it were, a motorcycle in which you sit dry and in which you can also take people and transport luggage. Much can be said about it in very different ways, but one thing is certain, namely that this unorthodox Citroën-Deux is technically very interesting, with corresponding spring properties.”
Drive, initiative and above all enthusiasm set the tone for Henri Malartre.
Thank you for quoting my contribution.
The prototype of the photos here is of a model even before the three found in that hayloft. Those three were broadly similar to the Duck as we know it. So one of them was bought by the Duck Museum in Andijk. The owner, Edwin, certainly knows a lot more about Ducks than I do.
By the way, TPV stands for 'très petite voiture' (very small car) which was the code name for this project.
I quickly found this site, there is probably more:
http://www.citroenet.org.uk/prototypes/2cv/2cv-prototypes-2.htm
Is not true . Isn't one of the three…..
That's right, the three prototypes already had a convex bonnet, one headlight and a crank instead of a starter motor!
The story about this 2cv is completely wrong, that bicycle dealer bought a completely different 2cv and is in the 2cv museum in Andijk