Brand New (but not really) EV 2CV!

[Faker]

Have you shitters seen these?! £30k for a remanufactured plug in ev Citroen 2CV!! Or alternatively pay £17k to have your own CV converted!!

slap me and wake me up from this nightmare!

Marketing as brand new cars, but they’re registered ‘88 and ‘89 respectively. Have full type approval etc… but £30k?!

I do like the concept….. but not at that cost.

Also being marketed as a classic car for limited use. Standard range in summer = 65 miles, cut that in half for winter use (quoting the manufacturer).

thoughts?

[Matty]

Any car that's still on the road past a typical ten year life cycle is already doing its bit by negating the need to make another car to replace it. Just my opinion mind 😉

[Faker]

14 minutes ago, Matty said:

Any car that's still on the road past a typical ten year life cycle is already doing its bit by negating the need to make another car to replace it. Just my opinion mind 😉

I hear you… although at £13,000 to re manufacture a 2CV…. Before installing the  £17,000 EV equipment is - making a new car.

[Rocket88]

I’ve heard there’s all sorts of SVA issues with some of these “ conversations “

[Stinkwheel]

It is a new car, totally new shell, suspension, brakes etc etc - I know the chap who's company does them. Another mate of mine does a bit of work for them. I have driven the white and yellow one.

Selling well to ULEZ area apparently.

I'd still rather have a normal ICE 2CV personally. Id also never spend anywhere near the amount they cost on a motor vehicle, but thats just me. And i would never ever have one of those plastic rear end 'ville' vans - thats another story entirely

Feel free to PM me if you wish a more forthright comment 🤣

It also happens that most (but not all) of the 2CV repair, service, resto parts that anyone buys comes here through this company, directly or Indirectly, because of who they are partnered with and who that partner is partnered with.

[Faker]

44 minutes ago, Stinkwheel said:

I'd still rather have a normal ICE 2CV personally. Id also never spend anywhere near the amount they cost on a motor vehicle, but thats just me. And i would never ever have one of those plastic rear end 'ville' vans - thats another story entirely

The vans are plastic?!

[Stinkwheel]

3 minutes ago, Faker said:

The vans are plastic?!

The van bit is yes, on a car chassis, with a modified (cut off) car cab - for various reasons, no thanks !

EDIT: Maybe not all the vans are on a car chassis, the shorter ones were, buts its still not got the van crossmember supports 'proper' citroen ones did. Im not slagging them off per-se, its just a severely reduced payload to an actual van. I do not know if they uprate the springs and dampers to van spec.

[barefoot]

Why is it not on a Q plate?

[Stinkwheel]

Meets the rules for 'points' with DVLA for keeping its originals axles, gearbox, suspension, shell etc I expect

[Matty]

1 hour ago, Faker said:

I hear you… although at £13,000 to re manufacture a 2CV…. Before installing the  £17,000 EV equipment is - making a new car.

I defo meant pre ev conversion!!

[Matty]

25 minutes ago, Stinkwheel said:

Meets the rules for 'points' with DVLA for keeping its originals axles, gearbox, suspension, shell etc I expect

By gearbox, do we think the lecky system is still driving through the box or the box has just been left in situ to appease the points system? Properly interesting, though I wouldn't have one given personally. The drive train is 50% if not more of the classic car experience IMHO.

[crad]

1 hour ago, Faker said:

Have you shitters seen these?! £30k for a remanufactured plug in ev Citroen 2CV!! Or alternatively pay £17k to have your own CV converted!!

slap me and wake me up from this nightmare!

Marketing as brand new cars, but they’re registered ‘88 and ‘89 respectively. Have full type approval etc… but £30k?!

I do like the concept….. but not at that cost.

Also being marketed as a classic car for limited use. Standard range in summer = 65 miles, cut that in half for winter use (quoting the manufacturer).

thoughts?

with that sort of range they're completely pointless.

 

on the whole 'lets save the world point', if the governmetn was really serious they'd offer to pay for us all to convert our cars to electric & give us solar panels & wind turbines to charge them, but that'll never happen for various reasons.

[somewhatfoolish]

3 minutes ago, Matty said:

By gearbox, do we think the lecky system is still driving through the box or the box has just been left in situ to appease the points system? Properly interesting, though I wouldn't have one given personally. The drive train is 50% if not more of the classic car experience IMHO.

Their website talks about using 3rd gear and has a pic of the gubbins and behind the £800 electric motor is the standard inboard brakes although they're being well coy about photographing under the bonnet at all which irritates. It's a bit lame not having a proper EV charge socket and will result in bullying and namecalling at public EV chargers(probably).

[Stinkwheel]

41 minutes ago, Matty said:

By gearbox, do we think the lecky system is still driving through the box or the box has just been left in situ to appease the points system? Properly interesting, though I wouldn't have one given personally. The drive train is 50% if not more of the classic car experience IMHO.

It is definitely driving through the box still. You can even change gear still if you want, mostly pointless though, just stick it in 3rd and drive around 

[Stinkwheel]

7 minutes ago, somewhatfoolish said:

Their website talks about using 3rd gear and has a pic of the gubbins and behind the £800 electric motor is the standard inboard brakes although they're being well coy about photographing under the bonnet at all which irritates. It's a bit lame not having a proper EV charge socket and will result in bullying and namecalling at public EV chargers(probably).

There is nothing remarkable about the under bonnet, it just looks like a converted from ICE to EV car. A well respected electronics tech guy I know in the 2CV club made his opinion known about the install to me, I agreed with him. 

[Noel Tidybeard]

1st is locked out as too low

Johnny sideburns has done a vid

[drewd]

5 hours ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

1st is locked out as too low

Johnny sideburns has done a vid

I presume you're referring to Johnny Smith from The Late Brake Show? If so I've seen the videos he's done on the 2CV and the van and I'd agree they're not for me.

I've nothing against EV conversions and actually think they make a lot of sense in some vehicles but the implementation of this conversion leaves me feeling underwhelmed. The very limited range, no increase in performance and slow charging just seem like too much of a compromise to me, especially for the cost. I'm clearly not their target market though.

One of the great things about EVs is the torque and increased driveability; if only they'd made made this able to accelerate and keep up with modern traffic a bit better, and gave it a better range it would be so much more useable and appealing to more people. I could understand it if it were due to space constraints on the 2CV, but I would have thought they'd be able to improve it for the van. Unless I'm missing something?

Here's the links to the videos should anyone be interested.

EV Van video

EV 2CV video

[Spiny Norman]

It's good that they didn't want to ruin the USP of a 2CV and add half a ton of batteries to it but the range is pathetic and the performance seems little better than a standard car's.
I just don't see the point, half the fun of a 2CV is husbanding the maximum you can from it, eking out every last horsepower. perfecting every gearchange, scaring the bejezus out of passers by and passengers with comedy angles of roll, and mastering the lost art of going fast in an underpowered car by never going slowly, and having to do that in a whining EV that has all the disadvantages of the breed and none of the good stuff really doesn't appeal.

Yes to the all new metalwork and everything else. Also yes to an uprated 50bhp 652cc twinpot, and yes to a car that's ULEZ compliant anyway due to its age.

[somewhatfoolish]

They have, or at least the motor is rated 59hp peak so the traffic light GP performance should be nearly  twice as good. If the controller limits it then that is silly, as clogging a 2CV away from the lights is one of life's simple pleasures.

  

1 hour ago, drewd said:

One of the great things about EVs is the torque and increased driveability; if only they'd made made this able to accelerate and keep up with modern traffic a bit better

 

[drewd]

10 hours ago, somewhatfoolish said:

They have, or at least the motor is rated 59hp peak so the traffic light GP performance should be nearly  twice as good. If the controller limits it then that is silly, as clogging a 2CV away from the lights is one of life's simple pleasures.

  

 

Ah I didn't realise. From watching the videos I was under the impression that top speed and acceleration were similar to the original flat twin output and hills were still a struggle. Perhaps this was due to leaving the car in 3rd rather than using the gearbox?

[Stinkwheel]

Having driven the yellow white one, acceleration up to about 40 is better than standard, after that similar, they don’t go as fast, you cannot get to 75mph and a standard 2CV will happily. That’s the real issue for me 

[Zelandeth]

13 hours ago, somewhatfoolish said:

They have, or at least the motor is rated 59hp peak so the traffic light GP performance should be nearly  twice as good. If the controller limits it then that is silly, as clogging a 2CV away from the lights is one of life's simple pleasures.

  

 

Limited because they reckon 59bhp and however much torque the motor has would lunch the gearbox/driveshafts if allowed to run at full power I wonder?

[sierraman]

How to change something really characterful into something completely soulless. 

[Stinkwheel]

1 hour ago, Zelandeth said:

Limited because they reckon 59bhp and however much torque the motor has would lunch the gearbox/driveshafts if allowed to run at full power I wonder?

Not likely, the bmw engine conversions put more than 59bhp through the same set up 

[Zelandeth]

20 minutes ago, Stinkwheel said:

Not likely, the bmw engine conversions put more than 59bhp through the same set up 

Fair enough!  Have to admit it's a car I know embarrassingly little about really beyond "I know I want one" (with the original power plant mind you!) but sadly don't have space for yet another car.

[dollywobbler]

I've driven the Mehari they did and I felt performance was on a par with standard - though perhaps a little quicker on account of no gearchanges.

[Stinkwheel]

8 minutes ago, dollywobbler said:

I've driven the Mehari they did and I felt performance was on a par with standard - though perhaps a little quicker on account of no gearchanges.

I’m surprised at that, couldn’t get the car to do that sort of top speed

[Mad Cyril]

https://2cvgarage.nl/en/ev-chassis/
 

This is a much more complete idea with the bulk of the battery built into the chassis nice and low down.
There's talk of a 250km range which is useful enough and 80mph, Dread to think of the price though.

[Mad Cyril]

(...and the chassis is built by Yorkshire's very own Ken Hanna)