Citroën Type B2 10CV | |
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Overview | |
Manufacturer | Citroën |
Production | 1921–1926 89,841 produced |
Body and chassis | |
Body style | 25 different bodies, but concentration was on relatively few, including: "Torpedo" "Torpedo Sport" "Conduite Intérieure" (saloon/sedan) "Coupé De Ville" ("Town car") Sport |
Layout | FR layout |
Powertrain | |
Engine | Petrol/gasoline: 1,452cc Straight-4 |
Transmission | 3-speed manual |
Dimensions | |
Wheelbase | 2,830 millimetres (111.4 in) |
Length | 3,940 millimetres (155.1 in) |
Chronology | |
Predecessor | Citroën Type A |
Successor | Citroën Type B10 |
The Citroën B2 is the second model produced by Citroën. It is therefore the second European car to have been constructed according to modern mass production technologies. It was produced at André Citroën's factory in central Paris between May 1921 and July 1926.
The Citroën B2 replaced the Citroën Type A in June 1921, although the "Type A" would continue to be listed for sale till December 1921.
The new car offered more power, the size of its 4-cylinder engine now being increased to 1,452 cc. The car was sometimes known as the Citroën 10HP (or 10CV), the HP in the suffix being a reference to its fiscal horsepower, a number computed according to the cylinder diameters and used to define its taxation class. In terms of engine power, maximum output was listed as 20 bhp at 2,100 rpm, which translated into a claimed top speed of 72 km/h (45 mph). Power reached the rear wheels via a three speed manual transmission: there was no synchromesh.
Advertised fuel consumption of 8 litres per 100 km converts into a remarkable 26 MPG (using US gallons) or more than 31 MPG (British gallons). The car quickly gained a reputation for robustness and economy.
The car was manufactured, just five minutes from the Eiffel Tower, in the 15th arrondissement of central Paris at the famous factory in the Quai de Javel (subsequently renamed Quai André-Citroën), which by 1925 was producing at the rate of 200 cars per day, applying techniques then known as "Taylorism" which André Citroën had studied personally and in depth during a visit to Dearborn that he had undertaken during the war in order to master the techniques being applied by Henry Ford for the production of the Model T.