The Citroën Bijou is a small coupé manufactured by Citroën at the premises they had occupied since 1925 in Slough, England. The Bijou was assembled from 1959 until 1964. It was based on the same platform chassis as the

Citroën 2CV The Citroën 2CV (french: link=no, deux chevaux(-vapeur), , lit. "two steam horse(power)s", meaning "two ''taxable'' horsepower") is an air-cooled front-engine, front-wheel-drive, economy family car, introduced at the 1948 Paris Mondial d ...

, sharing its advanced independent front to rear interconnected suspension. The car's appearance was thought to be more in line with the conservative taste of British consumers than the utilitarian 2CV. The body was made of

fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

, and the car featured the two-cylinder 425 cc 12 bhp engine also seen in the 2CV. Only 210 were produced, plus two prototypes. It incorporated some components from the DS, most noticeably the single-spoke steering wheel. It was designed by Peter Kirwan-Taylor, known as the stylist of the elegant 1957

Lotus Elite The Lotus Elite name has been used for two production vehicles and one concept vehicle developed and manufactured by British automobile manufacturer Lotus Cars. The first generation Elite Type 14 was produced from 1957 until 1963 and the second ...

, another fibreglass-bodied car. Bijou bodies were initially moulded by a company called "Whitson & Co", close to Citroën's Slough premises, but it later proved necessary to transfer this work to another supplier. Disappointing sales levels for the UK's own Citroën seem to have been down to the Bijou's price, which at the time of the 1959 motor show was £674. At this time the British market was acutely price sensitive, and buyers could choose a

Ford Popular The Ford Popular, often called the Ford Pop, is a car from Ford UK that was built in England between 1953 and 1962. When launched, it was Britain's lowest priced car. The name Popular was also used by Ford to describe its 1930s Y Type model. Th ...

with four seats and a much larger engine for £494. The Bijou's more modern styling gave it a higher top speed and lower cruising fuel consumption than the equivalent 2CV; however, the greater weight of the bodywork had an adverse impact on the car's more general performance, especially its acceleration. The Bijou was considered expensive by the testers. It was also more expensive than the

Austin Mini The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...

, but the Bijou was supposed to be more distinguished. As of 2013, nearly 150 Bijous were on the 2CVGB club register, but fewer than 40 are still on the roads. File:Bijou 2cv.jpg, File:Citroen Bijou (1).jpg, File:Citroen Bijou ca 1962.jpg,

References

External links

Citroën Bijou at Citroenet

Citroën Bijou at Motorbase
{{DEFAULTSORT:Citroen Bijou

Bijou Bijou is a French word meaning ''jewel'', often loosely applied to buildings to mean small and elegant. It may also refer to: Buildings * Bijou Palace, also known as the Al-Gawhara Palace, a palace in Cairo, Egypt * Bijou Theatre (Manhattan), two ...

Cars powered by boxer engines Cars introduced in 1959 1960s cars