We recently had a message about the new Méhari carriages for around three mille. Out of curiosity we contacted the makers of that beauty. And so you end up at a company that has been intimately involved with 35 for years Citroën cooperates.
Create a Méhari? That is not that simple yet
And then it appears that for grinding a 'new' Mehari more is needed than just the body shell. That the story is a bit more complicated and that the French actually prefer to talk about their most recent darling child the Eden. That is a completely newly built, UV-resistant Méhari. With an electric motor. Satisfied the other side says 'of the line' that there is even a Dutch importer for that beauty: Duckville from Diepenheim.
We already knew Duckville
The company has a rental fleet of about 14 2CVs and possibly a few Dyanes and a real fuel Méhari. Plus now - as an official importer - also an Electro Méhari. It is not yet suitable for rental. The range of approx. 80 km is just a bit too small for that. Funny: Such an electric Méhari is of course only useful if it can go on the road legally. To get a really new car on registration? That costs lots of money and you have to move mountains of administration for it. In the time of Olivier B. Bommel, the somewhat stupid bear urged his clever friend Tom Poes: "Come up with a clever plan, young friend!" In the context of that approach, the car - let's just keep calling it that - approved and is known as a quad. This means that the engine has been tweaked to 15 kW and that there is no need for a number plate at the front. He is fast enough with it.
The motorization is 1.0 electrical
The boxer engine and the tank out. The electric motor and the battery pack. The motorization is done in the easiest way: the E-motor drives the normal gearbox. A new Eden costs around thirty thousand. And that is more expensive than a beautiful Méhari. In the meantime we have seen all kinds of classics converted to E use. From a Bentley to a Saab and DS. We feel that all that adds little, it is a shame to sacrifice a classic for it. But for this Méhari on batteries we have a weakness. Of course because Méhari's have always been 'toy cars'. You can just be mild for that stuff.
Remains that the inventors: The 2 CV Méhari Club Cassis is a very serious shop.
The 2CV Méhari Club Cassis is located on an 10 hectare site with 8000 m² of workshops and employs around fifty employees for the 5 main business sectors fully dedicated to the 2CV, Méhari and Dyane:
The production of original spare parts (platforms, upholstery, bodywork, bumpers, accessories, etc.).
The sale and distribution of all these spare part references for these 3 key models and their various derivatives.
Restoration and complete reconstruction of dozens of these vehicles per year.
Engine and transmission overhaul
Design, assembly and distribution of EDEN, the Méhari-inspired electric car.
In Diepenheim, Duckvillers Dibert Ketting and Hella Markink tell us that changing a Duck into a Méhari with a body-set transplant is less simple than expected. Under and around the plestik of the Méhari carriage are still quite a few frame parts and such. The interior and the roof are also not included in the kit. Dibert estimates that 'making a Méhari yourself' stuff and hours of outsourcing costs about as much as buying a great copy that is officially registered as a Méhari.
And the Kawasaki in the photo is a typical case verkeerd afgelopen. The engine is from a friend of Dibert.
