In Paris, in the month of May 1968, the atmosphere was hot, very hot, but not because of the high temperatures like those recorded in Spain this summer, but in the social and political sphere. In that month, which went down in history as “the French May”, violent student and worker protests took place that turned Paris into hell, with cars set on fire and luxury stores robbed.
It is in this context that a simple and economical car was presented, which over time became an icon, the Citroën Méhari. Original and revolutionary, the small and light Méhari was a car born for the most varied uses, from leisure to all kinds of transport. Light, fast, agile and robust, it could carry up to 400 kg and was capable of moving everywhere, even in places where there was no road.
Fast thanks to its lightness and capable of reaching the most unexpected places, its name “Méhari” was chosen from a breed of racing camels, particularly robust and resistant. And if the 2CV was defined as a “brass snail”, the Méhari was called, in a sympathetic way, a “plastic snail”.
Designer Jean-Louis Barrault was based on a small Citroën commercial van
Manufactured until 1987 in almost 150,000 units, many still in circulation, it has become a legendary icon, highly sought after and appreciated by collectors. When De la Poype imagined the Méhari, he thought of the possibility of building a car adapted to the most diverse uses, from leisure to transporting objects or work tools; the designer Jean-Louis Barrault’s only determining factor was the dimensions of the AK, Citroën’s small commercial van.
The base car was born from the project, which was a 2-seater convertible in whose rear part it was possible to discover a “hole” for the legs of any rear passengers who sat on a folding seat that, when not in use, generated a zone completely flat cargo area from the rear bumper to the front seat backs.
The windshield (folding) included the anchors for two metal pieces that were joined in a bow (removable) located just above the driver and passenger seats. On this structure it was possible to mount a fabric roof that created a cabin for the front passengers. By extending the structure, the part of the rear passengers and the trunk could be covered, thus obtaining a four-seater sedan.
Simple instrument cluster with numerous informative clocks
Between the two configurations, the combinations were endless with cloth or hard doors, cloth side panels and even a fully modular rigid plastic hardtop available in Méhari body colours. ABS was chosen for the bodywork: an easily thermoformable, flexible material that could be colored in the mass.
Nearly 150,000 units were built over almost 20 years: from 1968 to 1987, including the 4x4s that served in the French Army
A car to do everything, in any weather, with or without passengers, on asphalt, on dirt roads and even where there are no roads.
Adapted to both Saint-Tropez and the center of Paris, the Méhari produced almost 150,000 units over almost 20 years: from 1968 to 1987, including the extraordinary 4x4s that served in the French Army, even in versions capable of being dropped by parachute and who assumed the role of “fast ambulances” in the Paris-Dakar of 1980, where they demonstrated their great virtues, among them being able to move easily in the dunes without getting stuck in the sand.
The Citroën Méhari quickly became a symbol of freedom and a simple, relaxed way of life: a true social phenomenon. This model also made his first steps in the world of cinema, in the popular series of films “El Gendarme”, starring the actor Louis de Funès. In addition, it showed its performance in demanding tests such as the Raid Liège-Dakar-Liège, in 1969, and the Raid Paris-Kabul-Paris, in 1970.