This TPV (for "toute petite voiture" which means “very small car”) prototype, developed in 1936, addressed the growing need for an affordable car. Citroën sought to create the “smallest possible car” that was all-terrain, economical, and functional. With the outbreak of war, French automakers were prohibited from building prototypes. To conceal the car’s true identity, it was modified to resemble a pickup truck cobbled together by a farmer. Citroën continued to produce 2CV prototypes during the war, including a model with a single central headlight, nicknamed the “Cyclops.” However, upon the 2CV’s official launch, the prototypes were destroyed by the company’s president at the time, Pierre-Jules Boulanger. Only five prototypes were preserved, hidden by employees who disagreed with management.
Few documents document the origin of this 2CV, which was discovered in the Michelin factories in Clermont-Ferrand, but it may have been adapted for military purposes.
The model preserved at the museum—long believed to be the only one of its kind in the world—spent the war in Michelin warehouses before being purchased (and thus saved from destruction) by Henri Malartre in 1949 along with scrap metal and tires.

• Engine: 2-cylinder flat-twin (FLAT-TWIN) – 375 cm3
• 3-speed transmission + reverse
• Water-cooled
• Hydraulic brakes
• Top speed: 31 mph