Two Steam Horses

I have to confess to being somewhat confused by this question, until I saw it written down.

I'd always been under the impression that '2CV' simply meant 'two horses' – that the double capital letter was just some weird French way of forming an abbreviation. When I heard this question, including the phrase "two steam horses", and the answer "Citroen 2CV – deux cheveaux vapeur", I imagined that it referred to some obscure model variant – the 2CV Vapeur.

Turns out I was wrong, and had been all along.

Wikipedia explains that up until the Second World War, France was known as a manufacturer of luxury cars: its best–known marques were the likes of Bugatti, Delage, Delahaye, and Talbot–Lago. Following the war, the French government (which traditionally plays a strong directive role in economic affairs – a policy known as dirigisme) set about changing this. It introduced regulations known as puissance fiscale ('power tax') to encourage manufacturers to build cars with small engines and low horsepower, and French motorists to buy them. The French term for horsepower is chevaux–vapeur – literally 'steam horses', and commonly abbreviated to 'CV'.

The Citroën 2CV was launched in 1948. Its 375 cc two–cylinder air–cooled engine weighed only 100 pounds (45 kg), and originally offered 9 hp. Intended to help motorise the many French farmers who were still using horses and carts in the 1930s, it combined innovative engineering and utilitarian, straightforward metal bodywork (initially corrugated for added strength without added weight). Its benefits included low cost, simple maintenance, low fuel consumption, and an extremely long–travel suspension – offering a soft ride and light off–road capability.

In some parts of the world the 2CV was classed as a quadricycle (i.e. not a car). Like many French cars of this era (designed to comply with the puissance fiscale regulations) it was not an immediate success in many export markets.

More than 3.8 million 2CVs were produced between 1948 and 1988 (and in Portugal from 1988 to 1990), as well as over two million variants – including the delivery van known as the fourgonnette, the Ami and the Dyane. The last of these was introduced as competition for the Renault 4, and had a proper hatchback (in the standard 2CV, the canvas sunroof reached almost to the rear bumper). The Citroën Dyane is particularly fondly remembered in my family.