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1988 Isetta

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tomshobby

tomshobby

Yoda
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We were having a gathering of members of our Madison British Car Group Sunday and this 1988 Isetta stopped in. A very interesting car. Notice in the photo of the front wheel that there is only one suspension arm, the lower tub piece. One of the many interesting facts is that even though these cars were produced into 1990 all of them made in and after 1970 were registered as 1970 models for import reasons.
 
Very cool! except I presume you mean Citroen 2CV. This is an Isetta
 
Coming back to the Original - I can't think of many cars with the cool-quirky-funky factor of 2CV's - love them!
 
The owner told us so many very interesting things about the car and its development. One was how the suspension was designed. Because the car was designed for the poorer rural population there were special considerations for them. One of the requirements was that the car had to be able to haul a couple cases of eggs with no special packing, just laying loose in the car. After all the cars would be used to transport farm products. AND it had to do it while driving across a freshly plowed field while traveling at a moderate speed. The result is the most amazing suspension I have ever seen.
 
I know that story - and, having owned a Ciroen (DS19) I know how amazing their suspensions can be - nothing like it before or since.
 
It's no mystery why the French are better known for their culinary skills than the design skills.

I see from the brown bottle in the picture that you serve refreshments at your events?
 
That 2CV suspension is the mechanical equivalent of the MG1100/Austin America hydraulic suspension. A steel bar pivots under the driver's seat and connects the wheels of the right (or left) side so that any bump is reduced by 1/2 minus the bar's ability to bend (and it has shocks too). Very simple and effective.
BillM
 
Are those the energy absorbing bumpers on that model?
 
I had several examples of the Dyane, which was a slightly fancier-looking version of the 2CV. 50mpg no problem! The blue car is an Ami 6, owned by Luis Arisso of Milwaukee. Citroens of that era are wonderful cars. I had a few GS and GSAs as well, and they were so far advanced of anything else that other manufacturers still haven't caught up!
 
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