Citroën Méhari

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For the méhari camel, see dromedary.
Citroën Méhari
Méhari - Flickr - besopha.jpg
Overview
Manufacturer Citroën
Production 1968—1988
Body and chassis
Class Off-road compact SUV
Body style 2-door cabriolet SUV
Layout Front engine, front-wheel drive / four-wheel drive
Related Citroën 2CV
Citroën Dyane
Citroën FAF
Citroën Ami
Citroën Bijou
Powertrain
Engine 602 cc flat-2
Chronology
Successor Citroën E-Méhari

The Citroën Méhari is an off-road compact SUV produced by the French automaker Citroën, a variant of the Citroën 2CV. 144,953 Méharis were built between the car's French launch in May 1968[1] and 1988 when production ceased.[2] A méhari is a type of fast-running dromedary camel, which can be used for racing or transport. A méhariste was a French Armée d'Afrique and Army of the Levant cavalryman that used these camels.

The Méhari was based on the Citroën Dyane 6, and had a body made of ABS plastic with a soft-top. It also employed the 602 cc flat twin gasoline engine shared with the 2CV6 and Citroën Ami. This is similar to the way the mechanical parts of the 1960 Mini became the 1964 Mini Moke.

Méhari Interior

A four-wheel drive version of the Méhari was produced from 1980 to 1983 and had excellent off-road qualities, due to the lightness of the vehicle.

The standard Méhari weighs just 535 kg (1,179 lb) and has the interconnected fully independent long-travel 2CV suspension used by all of the Citroën 'A-Series' vehicles.

Origin

The Méhari was designed by French World War II fighter ace Count Roland de la Poype, who headed the French company - SEAP, Société d'Etudes et d'Applications des Plastiques. This company was already a supplier to Citroën, and SEAP developed a working concept of the car before presenting it to their client.[3]

Military use

France

The French Army bought 7,064 Méharis - some were modified to have 24 V electric power.[3]

Ireland

The Citroën Méhari also was in service with the Irish Defence Forces and had a total of 12 machines purchased in the late 1970s, most were sold at auction about 1985, but one is retained at the DFTC in the Curragh Camp, County Kildare, Ireland.

The Mehari 4x4

In 1979, Citroën launched the "Mehari 4x4" with drive to all four wheels. Unlike the Citroën 2CV Sahara 4x4, this car has only one engine, rather than one engine per axle.

The body is distinguished by its spare wheel mounted on the specially designed bonnet, its additional bumpers, front and rear, its flared wheel arches (for 1982), big optional tires (for 1982) and its tail lights similar to the Citroën Acadiane van.[4] The 4x4 version has a gearbox with 4 normal speeds and a 3 speed transfer gearbox for crossing slopes up to 60%. At the time, the Mehari 4x4 is one of the few 4x4s with four-wheel independent suspension. The car had all wheel disc brakes.[5]

Mehari 4x4 production stopped in 1983. [7] With only about 1,300 vehicles produced, the 4x4 is now highly sought after and transmission parts are virtually unobtainable.

US import

US Model

The Méhari was sold in the United States in 1969 and 1970, where the vehicle was classified as a truck. As trucks had far more lenient National Highway Traffic Safety Administration safety standards than passenger cars in the US, the Méhari did not have seat belts. The Mehari did have limited sales success. Budget Rent-A-Car bought a number of them and offered them as rentals in Hawaii. Hearst Castle, in San Simeon, California, used them as groundskeeper cars.[6]

Distinctions for the US-model included:

  • Altered front panel with larger 7" sealed-beam headlamps
  • Lateral side marker lights
  • Special boot (trunk) lid with room for US registration plate and a lamp (Lucas) either side of it.
  • Straight rear bumper.
  • Two-speed wiper motor.
  • Reversing lights.
  • Hexagonal yellow "cats eyes" on front and rear sides.

South America

Méhari Ranger, Uruguay

The Mehari sold in Argentina had a fibreglass body and not ABS. The car was produced in Uruguay from 1971 to 1979. After Citroën left Argentina following the collapse of the economy in the late 1970s, the production of the Mehari, renamed the "Mehari Ranger" with flared wheel arches and big tires, continued for some time.

In Popular Culture

Paris was terrorized during the autumn-winter 1973/1974, when sixty-three Citroën Méhari were burned by an arsonist.[7] The Méhari made several film appearances. In the 1971 film The Omega Man, Charlton Heston drives a green Méhari. In Hawaii, Brian Keith drives a Méhari in The Brian Keith Show, which ran from 1972 to 1974.

In 1973's Aloha from Hawaii Via Satellite TV Special with Elvis Presley, a yellow Méhari can be seen prominently (at the 18 minute mark) during the Early Morning Rain song. Bill Murray also drives a Méhari in 2004's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

A beach-themed update arriving for the 2013 videogame Grand Theft Auto V brought the addition of the Canis Kalahari, an off-road vehicle based on the Citroen Mehari.

Body colours

The colour was integrated into the ABS plastic material in production, and as a utilitarian vehicle, the options chart was quite limited. Only the Vert Montana remained in the catalogue for all the 18 years of production. Except for Azur blue, the official names of colours all refer to desert regions.

Ultraviolet rays from the Sun impact the colorfastness of ABS plastic, so unrestored cars have a faded appearance.[6]

New bodies for restorations are only supplied in white colour, and now require painting on top of a specialist primer.

Colour 1968 - 1969 1969 - 1975 1976 - 1977 1978 - 1979 1980 - 1982 1983 - 1987
Rouge Hopi
Vert Tibesti
Vert Montana
Orange Kirghiz
Beige Kalahari
Beige Hoggar
Jaune Atacama
Blanc et bleu (Azur)
  • Mehari 1977.JPG

  • Vert Tibesti

  • Blanc et bleu (Azur)

  • Citroen-Mehari-img 1845.jpg
  • Mehari2.jpg

  • Orange Kirghiz

  • Beige Hoggar

  • Jaune Atacama

  • Rouge Hopi

Production history

Model 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 Total
Méhari 837 12,624 11,246 10,175 11,742 12,567 13,910 8,920 9,569 9,645 8,467 8,995 8,351 4,833 4,137 3,349 2,654 1,882 669 381 144,953[8]

Post-Factory Produced Cars

The Mehari ended production in 1988 with no replacement. This left a gap in the market, that others have tried to address.

The Teihol company, which had been building the recently defunct Renault Rodeo, created the Tangara using 2CV mechanicals, with bolt on pre-dyed GRP panels. They also created a Citroën AX-based model, but the company ceased operations in 1990.[9]

The mechanically simple Méhari can be restored to ‘as new’ condition – all parts including the chassis are available, creating a thriving restoration market.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Cars & parts - Volume 13 1969 - Page 23 "If you were a Franchised Mehari dealer in 1969, you could have cashed in on a $1 billion market. Mehari by Citroen is the newest entry into the booming recreational/utility market. A market that had retail sales of $1 billion in 1969."
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Automobiles Citroën, a subsidiary of the PSA Peugeot Citroën since 1976, car timeline, 1950s–1970s — next »
Type 1950s 1960s 1970s
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Economy car 2CV
Bijou
Off-roader Méhari
Supermini LN / LNA
Dyane
Ami Visa
Small family car GS
Large family car 11 CV ID / DSpécial / DSuper
Executive car 15 CV DS CX
Grand tourer SM

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Type 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3
Economy car 2CV C-Zero Ami
City car C1 I C1 II
Subcompact car Hatch Saxo C2 DS3 transferred to DS Automobiles
AX C2CN
C3 II C3IN/SAM
C3 I C3 III
Sedan C-Elysée
C3LCN
MPV C3 Picasso/AircrossSAM
CUV C3 Aircross
C3-XRCN
C4 Cactus
C4 Aircross
Convertible C3 Pluriel E-Méhari
Compact /
Small family car		 Hatch ZX Xsara C4 I C4 II C4 III
FukangCN C-Élysée HatchCN
DS4 transferred to DS Automobiles
Sedan Elysée / C-ElyséeCN
Fukang 988CN C-QuattreCN C4 SedanCN
C-Triomphe / C4 Sedan/PallasCN/RU/SAM C4 L/Sedan/LoungeCN/RU/SAM C4 X
Estate ZX Break Xsara Break
MPV Xsara Picasso
C4 Picasso C4 Picasso/SpaceTourer
Grand C4 Picasso Grand C4 Picasso/SpaceTourer
CUV C-Crosser C5 Aircross
Large family car Hatch /
Sedan		 BX Xantia C5 I C5 II C5 IIFCN
DS5 transferred to DS Automobiles
Estate BX Break/Evasion Xantia Break C5 Break I C5 Break II C5 X
MPV Evasion C8
Executive car XM C6 C6CN
LAV C15 Nemo
Berlingo ISAM
Berlingo I Berlingo II
Berlingo II Berlingo III
LCV Jumpy Jumpy Jumpy / SpaceTourer
C25 Jumper I Jumper II
C35 Jumper ISAM
Legend
  •      Manufactured by Mitsubishi
  •      Manufactured by TPCA in the Czech Republic
  •      Model from DS sub-brand, now DS Automobiles
  •      Originated by Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën in China
  •      Originated in India and South America
  •      Manufactured by Sevel Nord in France
  •      Manufactured by Sevel Sud in Italy
  •      Model with extended local production and selling outside its country of origin

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