What do the Tesla Model 3 Performance and the 2CV Sahara have in common?

At first glance, apart from 4 wheels and a steering wheel, there seems to be nothing in common between a Citroën 2CV Sahara and a Tesla Model 3 Performance, yet…

What could be more refreshing than the simplicity of the Citroën 2CV design when current manufacturers are multiplying aerodynamic and purely stylistic appendages to make their models stand out from the crowd? Unveiled by Citroën in October 1948 at the Paris Motor Show, the Deuche or Deudeuche responded to a particularly simple set of specifications. To offer 4 seats and a reasonable load capacity to a clientele that was not affluent, still heavily marked by the Second World War. It was simply meant to be a means of getting around at a low cost in a rural society still dependent on horses and carts. Do not seek the origin of its name “two horses” here, as 2CV simply corresponds to its tax horsepower, but it is not absurd to state that it marked a sort of transition from the horse to the automobile for many people. A front-engine front-wheel drive model, inexpensive, reliable, easy to maintain, and based on long-travel suspension that allowed it to cross freshly plowed fields, as evidenced by the contemporary advertising campaigns with a basket of eggs balanced on the passenger seat.

The 2CV, an ordinary car, becomes extraordinary

Few people could have predicted the resounding success and remarkable longevity of the model, with the last unit produced in France in 1988. With the exception of occasional increases in engine power and displacement, the 2CV remained true to its post-war goal throughout its 40 years of production, with the notable exception of the fascinating 4×4 “Sahara” variant.

For this particular model unveiled in 1958 and marketed two years later, Citroën engineers equipped a standard 2CV with an additional engine mounted at the rear of the car driving the rear axle, in order to provide it with four-wheel drive. Do you see where we are going with this? Two engines, Dual Motor… Yes, the dual motor technology that appeared in 2014 on the Model S and in 2018 on the Model 3 is ultimately just a pale imitation of the technology developed by Citroën on the 2CV half a century earlier! You can now say that your Tesla Model 3 Performance is a descendant of the brave Citroën 2CV Sahara. Don’t you think it adds that little extra soul that it might have been missing?

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