About Citroën Dyane
The French carmaker enjoyed huge success with the 2CV, but it needed a replacement, and it needed it fast, and the Dyane was the answer.
In 1963, Citroen was riding the high tides and bought the Panhard brand and assigned their design department to create a new vehicle based on the 2CV platform. The result was like a second generation of the 2CV, but better in any way.
Panhard engineers took the main shape of a 2CV, and then they started to make new, flatter body panels. Thus, the manufacturing costs dropped while the car didn't look that outdated anymore. It still featured the fenders wider than the rest of the main bodywork. The design team installed round headlights into squared clusters, preparing the customers for the big headlights revolution that followed when the headlamps became squared. The Dyane's roofline was no longer arched, as on the 2CV, but flat.
Inside, the carmaker installed a bench seat at the front fit for three slim occupants. They could sit there since the gearshift was mounted on the dashboard. In front of the driver, Citroen placed a one-spoke steering wheel and a speedometer placed between the steering column and the flat dash panel. In the back, the carmaker offered a bench for three, also slim, passengers.
Under the hood, Panhard kept their idea of a flat-two air-cooled engine. They used that solution before, and it worked for a while. It was good enough for the Dyane too, and Citroen kept the car on the assembly lines until 1983 when it was replaced by another air-cooled flat-engine model, the Visa.