Archive Cars that you won't forget (28) - Citroen Dyane
17.09.2010
D ie Citroen Dyane, the new model, dubbed 'Unique' in the title of the test report, follows this corporate logic. Just don't look like the others, just don't be like the crowd. What happened?
Under the sheet metal everything stays the same
In order to save costs, the Citroen Dyane has remained technically a Deux Chevaux down to the last detail, which up to this point has held its own for almost two decades and is already on the way to cult status. But with the completely new body, which rests on a platform frame like the 2 CV, the visual appearance is completely different. The unmistakable 2 CV contour is retained as desired, but integrated headlights, the removal of the curves in the fender area and a larger front and rear window ensure the desired stylistic difference.
What hangs out at the bottom of the Citroen Dyane and presents itself in spectacular openness, especially when cornering quickly, is again the original 2 CV - long swing arms, longitudinal shock absorbers, a simple rim design that goes with the 2 CV will outlast 41 years of production and also provides proof that three nuts per wheel are sufficient.
The roll top is still there, thank God. The Citroen Dyane is a real convertible sedan. Four doors are standard, as is the case with the poorer-looking brother, as are the mat-like seats. The original, but not at all impractical, top-hung windows gave way to a sliding construction; inside there are two efficient and easily adjustable ventilation flaps in addition to the newly styled instrument panel. The single-spoke steering wheel is just as flat as in the 2 CV, the seating position is relaxed.
Numbers: 425 ccm, 18 HP and 30 Nm, 596 kg and 314 kg payload
The engine starts with the characteristic starter whimper, and now one is rather excited. Citroën initially only provided the Dyane with a two-cylinder boxer engine with only 18 hp. It is the last expansion stage of the old, 425 cubic centimeter engine that has been powering the 2 CV with difficulty since the mid-1950s. 18 hp! At that time, that wasn't particularly much for a motorcycle, and the Dyane is a grown limousine, almost 3.90 meters long, not a dwarfish mundane.
The scales show exactly 596 kilograms with a full tank, from today's perspective surprisingly little for a spacious four-door car.on the other hand, a lot for the small air-cooled boxer behind the front bumper, which only has 30 Nm of torque. At least 314 kilograms can be loaded, as usual, only two people and a few instruments are on board during the measurement trips. The tank is full to the brim - 20 liters of regular gasoline, which also weighs. The creaking engine of the Citroen Dyane with the diagonally hanging, bumper-controlled valves has a large flywheel for better concentricity, which fakes the driver for short sequences more temperament than is actually present. The flywheel even spins the drive wheels very briefly when shifting from first to second gear at full speed at 20 km /h.
A short tire squeak sounds, then the Citroen Dyane throws itself with the concentrated With the help of an NSU Max, he pushed forward again, cracked the 40 km /h mark after seven seconds, reached 60 km /h in 15 seconds and 80 km /h in 34. Now you push the brand-typical shift lever on the instrument panel elegantly forward again, into level four. Despite the low engine output, the Citroën technicians have given this top gear a distinctive overdrive character. The speed increase is now only moderate on an absolutely level track, better of course a gradient is better. Woe to, the opposite is the case with percentages. Long before they can be seen by the Dyane crew, the speed drops audibly - high time to pick up the voluminous black gear knob again.
Consumption: 4.5 liters minimum and six liters on average
The test car missed the 100 km /h mark, leaving it with a top speed of 94 km /h be good. If the topography allows it, this can be done for hours. The small, low-vibration boxer with the idiosyncratic acoustic timbre protects itself, so to speak, and only turns 4,000 tours at top speed. You get there with the Citroen Dyane, but it takes time. After all, the old test certifies the new Citroën country road averages of 60 or even 65 km /h, and the consumption values show that gasoline consumption is low even by today's standards. The bizarre, tall vehicle can be operated with just four and a half liters per 100 kilometers - in the test medium it is just over six.
Even when it comes to suspension comfort, today's compact cars cannot fool the Citroen Dyane. Even the roughest bumps only result in a gentle rocking of the structure, which is highly valued by fans of the brand. The long-distance suitability does not result from the engine power, but from a suspension quality unmatched in this class.
Soon it may be a little more engine power. The 602 cubic centimeter two-cylinder from the no less peculiar Ami 6 already provides 24.5 hp. But with oneComparative test at the end of the sixties with the rivals Renault R 4, Fiat 850, Honda N 360 and Mini 850, the stronger Citroën is also far behind.
After 1.5 million dyans, it's over
One still has to wait until 1970 until the Citroen Dyane engine, which has now been compressed one to nine, makes a real performance record. No less than 32 hp tug at the narrow front wheels, disc brakes at the front and automatic seat belts did not exist until 1978. Now you don't need 33 seconds to speed 80, but only 16. The top speed is 117 km /h - the VW Beetle can calmly come. In 1983, after 16 years of production and almost 1.5 million copies built, the end came for the Dyane - that formally smoothed Deux Chevaux that was actually intended to replace the famous duck one day. It's a quiet and gentle finish, the true 2 CV freaks never liked the formally watered down original anyway.
The wife driving Citroen Dyane also had to part with her neat, beige-colored piece in 1983. This finish is more spectacular. The car just burns on the doorstep, cause unknown. What remains on the paving stones of the parking space are remnants of the cavity protection Dinol. Shortly before the accident, the Dyane was still prepared. She should have a long and full life.
