The Citroën 2CV (deux chevaux - two horses, in French) is a low-cost car from the automaker Citroën. Produced between 1948 and 1990, reaching the incredible mark of 5 114 940 units produced, it was one of the most popular models of the brand; more than 5 million units were sold, in sedan and truck versions.

The acronym CV, which is part of the name of this model comes from "cheval fiscale" or fiscal power, a unit used to tax the vehicle. Despite being related, among other factors, to the engine power, the acronym CV in this case, does not express the real power of the engine.

The creation of the 2CV is due to the French engineer Pierre Jules Boulanger, who started the development of the TPV (French acronym for Toute Petite Voiture, in Portuguese Very small vehicle), and was president of Citroën until the end of 1934, when the family Michelin took control of the company.

The creators (who had worked on the creation of the Traction Avant), under the direction of André Lefèbvre and the Italian Flaminio Bertoni, responsible for the design of the body, started working on the TPV (Toute Petite Voiture) project to develop that "umbrella" with 4 wheels ", an ironic form with which the first 2CV were“ baptized ”. Of note is the work of engineer Alphonse Forceau, designer of the suspension, which is an essential part of the "two horse" philosophy.

In 1939, 250 prototypes (still water-cooled) of the TPV were manufactured.

During the German occupation of France in World War II it was decided to keep the project a secret. In addition, all production warehouses since the beginning of the war were intended for the construction of Renault branded tanks. Any attempt to continue the production of prototypes would be impossible, and more, considering the danger that the Germans would use the project for their own purposes. Some prototypes were hidden, but most of them were destroyed. In 1994, three TPV prototypes from that time were rediscovered in a barn in France. By 2004, a total of five TPV prototypes had been found.

On October 8, 1948, at the Paris Motor Show, the version of the TPV was finally shown for the first time as it is known today, with a 375 cc air-cooled bicylindrical engine. and a power of 9 CV. In its first public appearance, the automobile caused both admiration and laughter. Apparently, an American journalist, when seeing the Citroën 2CV for the first time, asked: "And where is the can opener?".

The latest 2CV models were produced in Mangualde, Portugal, on July 27, 1990.