Pages of history. Citroen Mehari. The liner on the crest of the barchan (1968-1987)

May 1968 was an epochal year for Citroen in terms of its influence on the entire French automotive history. It was a time of rebellion, freedom, creativity and lightness. Four words that accurately describe the CITROËN Méhari.

Citroen Mehari: freedom, creativity and lightness

The Méhari, then known as the Diane 6 Méhari, was introduced on May 16, 1968 at the Deauville golf course. It started to surprise right at the presentation. There were Citroen Mehari in all colors on the golf course, seven bright cheerful shades with the same bright names. Near each car stood a mannequin, dressed in the color of the car, representing one or another profession – firefighter, rescue worker, military man, geologist, doctor, farmer…

The official names of the flowers were in one way or another associated with the inhabitants of the desert regions of the planet:

The car really was a jack-of-all-trades. It could easily satisfy the demands of a simple farmer, hauling hay, or become a flashy beach fan-car with a surfboard in the trunk.

Built on the platform of the 2CV, Citroën produced the two-engine and four-wheel-drive Sahara in the 1960s, a very practical but not the cheapest car. With seven hundred copies in twelve years, the Sahara was not very successful, and we told you about it not too long ago. With the arrival of the Méhari, Citroën made a new attempt to build an SUV.

It appeared in 1968 and remained in production until 1988. A total of 144,953 Citroën Mehari were produced. Under the hood was the same two-cylinder boxer 603 cc, 28 hp as in the 2CV. In 1979, however, the engine was revised and became more powerful by one horsepower.

“Mehari” is the word for camel herders in North Africa and the Sahara. The speed and endurance of desert ships make them ideal for these parts. In short, a humble animal with stamina and ideal for all occasions to transport people and goods.

The CITROËN Méhari, designed by Roland de La Poip, a former ace pilot, had an ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) plastic body cast and painted during the casting process. The new lightweight material was extremely malleable and could be brightly colored. The design for the Méhari was developed in the French company SEAP (Société d’études et dapplications du plastique), which specializes in plastic products. Particular attention is paid to the body panels made of impact-resistant hard plastic.

The thin ABS is very flexible, and each panel is profiled to give it more strength. The funny thing is that ABS can be dissolved in acetone, so with a few pieces of ABS from the Méhari body, you can make a putty to match the color of the car, which was used to repair damage and cracks. Another key feature of the Méhari was that it could be folded literally to the height of the window line, as the windshield also folds down and rests on the hood.

Thanks to its elevated chassis and plastic body, the Méhari could drive almost anywhere. The freedom of movement it offered drivers was unprecedented at the time. And for absolutely ridiculous money.

 

CITROËN Méhari has a special appeal. He managed to have a successful career in the cinema, especially in leading roles in Gendarme de Saint-Tropez with Louis de Funès. Méhari also proved himself in sport by participating in the Liège-Dakar-Liège Rally in 1969, the Paris-Caboul-Paris Rally in 1970, the Paris-Persepolis-Paris Rally in 1971 and as an ambulance in the famous Paris-Dakar Rally in 1980.

It even became a faithful partner of the French army and national gendarmerie, because its lightness and compactness, combined with its off-road capabilities, literally made the Citroen Mehari a paratrooper. Its lightweight construction made it easy to parachute the vehicle with a crew on board into enemy rear areas.

The French Army bought 7,064 Méhari – some modified, some converted to a 24-volt electrical system. Citroën Méhari also served in the Irish Defense Forces, which acquired a total of 12 vehicles in the late 1970s. Most were sold at auction around 1985, but one is preserved in the Irish Army Museum at Camp Carrag, County Kildare, Ireland.

The 4×4 version has good off-road performance and is recognized by the spare wheel on the hood.

In 1979 Citroën launched the Méhari 4×4 with four-wheel drive. Unlike the Citroën 2CV Sahara 4×4, this vehicle had only one engine, not one engine per axle. The body featured a spare wheel mounted on a specially designed hood, additional bumpers front and rear, widened wheel arches (in the 1982 version), large optional tires and taillights such as those on the Citroën Acadiane van.

The 4×4 had a four-speed transmission and a three-speed transfer box which gave it enough traction to handle sand, mud, and grades up to 60%. At the time, the Méhari 4×4 was one of the few 4x4s with four-wheel independent suspension and disc brakes all around. From 1979 to 1983, only 1,300 four-wheel drive versions were produced.

During its 19-year career, the Méhari was produced in only two special modifications, the 1983 Méhari Beach (Spain) and the better known Méhari Azur (France, Italy and Portugal), a white model with blue doors and blue grille, canvas roof and headlights, and white and blue striped seats. Other models based on the same philosophy were assembled by CITROËN, which include Baby-Brousse, Pony, Dalat and FAF.