CITROËN 2 CV FOURGONNETTE — TEN YEARS AFTER OUR COLETTE PROJECT
By Patrice Meignan — TRANSMISSION by TheArsenale
Ten years ago, we put a Citroën 2CV Fourgonnette outside colette in Paris. Today, Citroën is bringing that wonderful little silhouette back. Some stories really do come full circle.
THE LITTLE VAN WITH A BIG PERSONALITY
I have always believed that great automotive design has very little to do with size, horsepower or price. A car can be tiny, humble and completely unforgettable. The Citroën 2CV is probably the best proof.
And the Fourgonnette? I have an even softer spot for it. Those corrugated sides, that extraordinary upright rear body, the beautifully simple proportions. It was designed to work, not to impress. And yet it became one of the most charming vehicles France ever produced.
So seeing Citroën reveal the new 2 CV Fourgonnette Concept at the 2026 Paris Motor Show makes me smile. The designers have taken that instantly recognisable shape and imagined it again as a compact, practical electric utility vehicle. It is playful, useful and refreshingly unpretentious.
Importantly, Citroën describes this as a design study, not a production vehicle confirmed for the near future. Personally, I hope they change their minds.
PARIS, 2016. A LITTLE PROJECT CALLED ANDRÉ ♥ COLETTE.
This unveiling brought back a very personal memory.
In 2016, through my agency L’Écurie, we helped orchestrate a collaboration between Citroën and colette, the legendary Parisian concept store at 213 rue Saint-Honoré.
The occasion was the 65th anniversary of the 2CV Fourgonnette and the 20th anniversary of the Berlingo. We brought together two generations of French utility vehicles and gave them the unmistakable colette treatment.
The original 2CV Fourgonnette, dressed in white and colette blue, stood outside the boutique. Alongside it, an electric Berlingo received a beautiful retro interpretation, complete with corrugated-style bodywork, and made deliveries around Paris.
The project was called André ♥ colette. The Citroën design studio, led by Alexandre Malval, worked on the transformations, while artist Steve Pitocco hand-painted the lettering in the spirit of vintage delivery vans.
I loved that project because it was never simply about putting a logo on a vehicle. It was about connecting industrial design, Parisian culture, fashion and a very particular French sense of humour.
And there is something wonderful about seeing the same silhouette inspire Citroën's designers a decade later.
Rediscover our 2016 Citroën × colette collaboration — official Citroën archive.
See the original 2CV Fourgonnette, including the 2016 colette edition, in Citroën Origins.
NOT EVERYTHING NEEDS TO LOOK AGGRESSIVE
Today, so much automotive design is obsessed with looking angry. Giant grilles. Artificial muscles. Endless visual drama.
And then along comes this little Citroën van, with its simple volumes and friendly face, reminding everyone that charm is also a design achievement.
The original Fourgonnette served shopkeepers, craftspeople and delivery drivers. It was part of everyday French life. A modern electric version could bring that same spirit back to our cities, where we desperately need smaller, smarter and more human vehicles.
Citroën, congratulations for revisiting this icon. But please, don't stop at a beautiful design study.
Build it.
And if you ever want to bring back a special colette-blue edition, you know where to find me.
Patrice Meignan
Sources: Citroën, 12 October 2026 — 2 CV Fourgonnette Concept · Citroën, 22 March 2016 — André ♥ colette.
