Citroen ECO 2000 SA 103 Prototype 1982

The oil crisis during the 1970s had a huge impact on transportation vehicles. Fuel consumption in cars became a major preoccupation, not just for commercial purposes but also political reasons, as reducing energy consumption became important on a national scale.

Thus, in 1981 the French Government  " ECO 2000 " programme was launched, supposed to culminate in 1986 with the development of a vehicle that consumed an average of 3 litres of fuel per 100km. This project was 50% funded by the government and a hundred engineers at Peugeot-Citroën took part in the research.

The specifications stated that " all technical preconceptions be rejected, and the starting point should be the exploration of the widest variety of solutions across all areas.» The studies resulted in four successive prototypes: SA 103, SA 109, SA 117 and SL 10. The last version, built in 1985 achieved a consumption rate of 2.4-litres over 100 km at 90 km/h, with an average of 3 litres - objective achieved! 

The prototype presented, SA 103 is the first in the series. According to Citroën, it was the " initial synthesis of theoretical work undertaken, focussing principally on weight and aesthetics. The desire not to exclude any potential solution is illustrated through the use of the " propulsion " type architecture. In order to save time, the flat two cylinder engine was retained. " The car weighs just 430 kg, with a drag coefficient of 0.267 and fuel consumption of 3.5-litres per 100 km. The 704cc engine develops 26 hp DIN and the car has a top speed of 140 km/h.

This Citroën ECO 2000  comes directly from Citroën Heritage, who has decided to part with it. It was proposed at Artcurial Auction Sales during Retromobile 2014 and was sold for 12.760 Euros.  This vehicle is not homologated for the road and will require adjustments to adapt it for a collector registration.

Wallpapers : Citroen ECO 2000 SA 103 Prototype 1982 (click on image to enlarge)