Citroën Dyane
Encyclopedia
The Citroën Dyane is an economy car/supermini
Supermini car
A supermini is a British term that describes automobiles larger than a city car but smaller than a small family car. This car class is also known as the B-segment across Europe, and as subcompact in North America....

 produced by the French automaker Citroën
Citroën
Citroën is a major French automobile manufacturer, part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.Founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën , Citroën was the first mass-production car company outside the USA and pioneered the modern concept of creating a sales and services network that...

 from 1967 to 1983. Based on the Citroën 2CV
Citroën 2CV
The Citroën 2CV |tax horsepower]]”) was an economy car produced by the French automaker Citroën between 1948 and 1990. It was technologically advanced and innovative, but with uncompromisingly utilitarian unconventional looks, and deceptively simple Bauhaus inspired bodywork, that belied the sheer...

, 1,444,583 examples were manufactured. A panel van
Panel van
A panel van is a form of solid van, smaller than a lorry or truck, without rear side windows...

 version called the Acadiane
Citroën Acadiane
The Citroën Acadiane is a small commercial vehicle derived from the Dyane and only available in left-hand drive, produced from 1978 to 1987. Production totalled 253,393. The Visa-based C15 van eventually replaced the Acadiane....

 derived from the Dyane.

Market context

The Dyane was a development of the Citroën 2CV
Citroën 2CV
The Citroën 2CV |tax horsepower]]”) was an economy car produced by the French automaker Citroën between 1948 and 1990. It was technologically advanced and innovative, but with uncompromisingly utilitarian unconventional looks, and deceptively simple Bauhaus inspired bodywork, that belied the sheer...

, and was intended as an answer to the increasingly popular Renault 4
Renault 4
The Renault 4, also known as the 4L , is a hatchback economy car produced by the French automaker Renault between 1961 and 1992. It was the first front-wheel drive family car produced by Renault....

, which after its introduction in 1961 had affected 2CV sales. The Renault 4 incorporated many ideas copied from the Citroën Traction Avant
Citroën Traction Avant
The Citroën Traction Avant is an automobile which was produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1934 to 1957. About 760,000 units were produced.-Impact on the world:...

, but on a smaller scale. Like the Renault 4, the Dyane was designed from the outset as a hatchback
Hatchback
A Hatchback is a car body style incorporating a shared passenger and cargo volume, with rearmost accessibility via a rear third or fifth door, typically a top-hinged liftgate—and features such as fold-down rear seats to enable flexibility within the shared passenger/cargo volume. As a two-box...

 with some other styling differences, such as conventional round headlamps set into the front fender with a squared chrome trim ring – as opposed to the old-fashioned separate units found on the 2CV – and stainless steel wheel embellishments as standard. It is often believed that the Dyane was intended to replace the 2CV, but it was aimed slightly higher in the Citroën range – between the 2CV and the Ami
Citroën Ami
The Citroën Ami is a supermini produced by the French automaker Citroën from 1961 to 1978. The Ami and stablemate Citroën Dyane were replaced by the Citroën Visa and Citroën Axel . The Ami was for some years the best-selling car model in France...

 – and attracted a different clientele seeking the versatility offered by the Dyane's hatchback. From the mid 1950s until the 1970 Citroën GS
Citroën GS
The Citroën GS and Citroën GSA are small family cars produced by the French automaker Citroën. The GS was voted European Car of the Year for 1971, and was probably the most technologically advanced car in its class when launched, with class leading comfort, safety and aerodynamics.-Market...

, Citroën had no car in the mid size market segment and needed to make the most of the Citroën 2CV
Citroën 2CV
The Citroën 2CV |tax horsepower]]”) was an economy car produced by the French automaker Citroën between 1948 and 1990. It was technologically advanced and innovative, but with uncompromisingly utilitarian unconventional looks, and deceptively simple Bauhaus inspired bodywork, that belied the sheer...

 chassis.

Panhard connections

At the time of the Dyane's development, the Citroën design department was busy on updates of the key DS
Citroën DS
The Citroën DS is an executive car produced by the French manufacturer Citroën between 1955 and 1975. Styled by Italian sculptor and industrial designer Flaminio Bertoni and the French aeronautical engineer André Lefèbvre, the DS was known for its aerodynamic futuristic body design and innovative...

 and Ami
Citroën Ami
The Citroën Ami is a supermini produced by the French automaker Citroën from 1961 to 1978. The Ami and stablemate Citroën Dyane were replaced by the Citroën Visa and Citroën Axel . The Ami was for some years the best-selling car model in France...

 models: design of the Dyane was therefore initially subcontracted to the Panhard
Panhard
Panhard is currently a French manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its current incarnation was formed by the acquisition of Panhard by Auverland in 2005. Panhard had been under Citroën ownership, then PSA , for 40 years...

 design department, Panhard's non-military business having in 1965 been absorbed into Citroën's car business. The Panhard team under Louis Bioner produced a proposal that proved controversial with management: the car was significantly reworked ahead of launch. The Dyane's Panhard associations are also reflected in its name, Panhard having registered a copyright on the name Dyane along with Dyna, Dynavia and Dynamic.

Engine and running gear

As with the 2CV, the engine was air-cooled, with a hemispherical combustion chamber and flat-topped pistons. Initially only the same 425cc engine was offered. Later versions gained a choice between the new 435 and 602cc engines: the 602 featured higher compression pistons and forced induction from the engine fan giving slightly more power than the Citroën 2CV
Citroën 2CV
The Citroën 2CV |tax horsepower]]”) was an economy car produced by the French automaker Citroën between 1948 and 1990. It was technologically advanced and innovative, but with uncompromisingly utilitarian unconventional looks, and deceptively simple Bauhaus inspired bodywork, that belied the sheer...

. Cooling air was ducted straight to the heater, giving excellent demisting and heating. Mechanical contact-breakers were mounted to the crankshaft and seated behind the cooling fan. The Fan was mounted on a tapered shaft and secured with a bolt at the bottom of a deep tube (the top of which engaged the starter handle), so that a common problem was that the points were not adjusted and the bolt was rounded off when people tried. The Coil fired both cylinders simultaneously (wasting one spark) and the spark plug wear was faster than it ought to have been; 6000 miles was not uncommon for a spark plug.

Cylinder heads were held on with three studs and barrels slipped over the pistons. No Cylinder-head gasket was used, and since the wings unbolted in a few minutes, it was possible to remove the cylinder heads and barrels, change the pistons or piston-rings and reassemble the top end within an hour and using only a few tools.

It was based on the same platform chassis as the Citroën 2CV
Citroën 2CV
The Citroën 2CV |tax horsepower]]”) was an economy car produced by the French automaker Citroën between 1948 and 1990. It was technologically advanced and innovative, but with uncompromisingly utilitarian unconventional looks, and deceptively simple Bauhaus inspired bodywork, that belied the sheer...

, sharing its advanced independent front to rear interconnected suspension. This comprised a central springing unit, running fore-and-aft in a tube on each side; each wheel hub on that side was linked by levers to the shock-absorber, which had a long travel. See Citroën 2CV
Citroën 2CV
The Citroën 2CV |tax horsepower]]”) was an economy car produced by the French automaker Citroën between 1948 and 1990. It was technologically advanced and innovative, but with uncompromisingly utilitarian unconventional looks, and deceptively simple Bauhaus inspired bodywork, that belied the sheer...

 for detailed information. The squeak you hear from most 2CVs and Dyanes as they go by is the lack of lubrication; they need some lithium-based grease to be applied using a knife every few thousand miles. Similarly, the front hubs have kingpins; these need to be greased every few thousand miles. Since they are usually not greased, the king-pins wear and an expensive repair is needed at MoT (involving welding new king-pin journals in, although a plastic-injection kit used to be available to reduce play).

The Dyane was also available with the "trafficlutch" - a centrifugal clutch which helped avoid stalling whilst in slow moving urban traffic.

UK press reaction

In the UK, a Citroën Dyane 6 tested by the British "The Motor"
The Motor (magazine)
The Motor was a British weekly car magazine founded on 28 January 1903....

 magazine in July 1969 had a top speed of 68.6 mph (110.4 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-60 mph (96.6 km/h) in 30.8 seconds. An overall fuel consumption of 36 mpgimp was recorded, although when driven gently the Dyane managed a class leading 51 mpgimp. The test car was priced by Citroen in the UK at £648 including taxes, the same price that BMC
British Motor Corporation
The British Motor Corporation, or commonly known as BMC was a vehicle manufacturer from United Kingdom, formed by the merger of the Austin Motor Company and the Nuffield Organisation in 1952...

 were sticking on their Mini 1000 Super
Mini
The Mini is a small car that was made by the British Motor Corporation and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout influenced a generation of car-makers...

. The car was commended for its versatility, spaciousness and comfort as well as for unexpectedly good road holding and fuel economy ‘when not driven hard’. Acceleration and top speed fell short of the class average, however. Apart from the Mini, UK market competitors identified by the journal included the Hillman Imp
Hillman Imp
The Hillman Imp is a compact, rear-engined saloon car that was manufactured under the Hillman marque by the Rootes Group from 1963 to 1976...

 and the Reliant Rebel
Reliant Rebel
The Reliant Rebel was a small car produced by Reliant between 1964 and 1973, conceived as an alternative to the Austin Mini and Hillman Imp. It was produced in saloon, estate and van variants.-Body:The Rebel had a body made of fibreglass...

 as well as the (at the time very popular ) Renault 4
Renault 4
The Renault 4, also known as the 4L , is a hatchback economy car produced by the French automaker Renault between 1961 and 1992. It was the first front-wheel drive family car produced by Renault....


Iranian manufacture

The Dyane was also built in Iran from 1968 to 1980, where it was called the Jyane - a Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...

word meaning "fierce" or "ferocious". Unique van and pick-up versions were also manufactured there.

External links

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