Citroën and Le Coq Sportif: creative teamwork for the 70th anniversary of the Type H

When the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham opens its doors on 25 April, the results of a wonderful collaboration between Citroën and another bold and creative French brand, #lecoqsportif, will be on display. To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Type H van, the two teamed up to customise an authentic Type H and a New #jumpy in the colours of #lecoqsportif – a natural thing to do for two French brands that put the accent on creating high-quality, modern, and technically advanced products and that can also claim to being “popular” in the finest sense of the term, i.e. in touch with people and inspired by their everyday lives. The two brands were eager to celebrate the iconic Type H and to link it to its worthy successor, the Citroën #jumpy, a van recognised for its styling, comfort, and practicality. Both one-of-a-kind vehicles, which are designed as mobile bicycle workshops, will be present at events in which #lecoqsportif participates throughout the year. 

01. NATURAL COLLABORATION BETWEEN TWO ICONIC FRENCH BRANDS
Citroën has chosen the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham for the world premier of two show cars, one based on the Type H and the other on the New #jumpy – two vans that range across 70 years of history and illustrate Citroën’s prominence in the light commercial vehicle segment. These two distinctive concept vehicles are the outcome of extensive interior and exterior customisation work to present the #lecoqsportif brand. They represent a design approach to mobile bicycle workshops that combines beauty and functionality:
- the Type H, evoking authenticity and nostalgia, with warm materials;
- the #jumpy, projecting a sleek, modern spirit with its simplicity and white colour.

The two show cars play on the contrast between gleaming white and colorful blocks of blue and red. Blue, white, and red – illustrating a delightful encounter between two iconic French brands dedicated to employing know-how based on creativity and innovation to offer high-quality, modern, and distinctive products. Their collaboration is supported by shared values. It is also an allusion to the Type H’s presence in the publicity fleet of #lecoqsportif.

Five years ago, during his return on the roads of France in the caravan of the biggest cycle #event #lecoqsportif exploited a typical Citroën H.This iconic vehicle, whose look and history are etched in the popular imagination, delights young and old whenever it rolls into sight. This cheerful feeling of friendliness and familiarity, which is an important aspect of the cycling world, guides Le Coq Sportif’s participation in events. The brand can rightfully claim to being “popular” in the finest sense of the term, i.e. being in touch with people and their everyday lifestyles and thus enabling them to engage in sports in a stylish yet casual way with high-quality, comfortable, and distinctively designed products.

These are Citroën’s values, too, as illustrated by the Brand’s “Citroën Inspired By You” campaign. Citroën has always been interested in people’s relationship with their car. Embedded in Citroën’s DNA is an attachment to the human element that has never weakened throughout its long history. The Brand’s cars always reflect their times and are designed for people who make cars an integral part of their life. For Citroën, it is important to be a popular brand positioned at the heart of the market – a brand with broad appeal that stands out owing to its unique identity, modernity, styling, and the practicality and comfort offered by its products. This philosophy is shared by #lecoqsportif in the realm of sports.
 

02. TWO MOBILE WORKSHOPS FLYING THE FRENCH COLOURS
The Type H and #jumpy have been converted into mobile bicycle maintenance workshops. They can also be transformed into workshops for flocking jerseys, if that is the work to be done – a sly wink at their dual character, both attractive and functional. The Citroën Style Centre and the #lecoqsportif styling office have combined their creative energy and expertise to develop the two vans, which display Le Coq Sportif’s colours along with the brand’s name and logo on each side.

The same approach has been taken in the design of the two show cars’ exteriors. All the body parts as well as the wheels and the roof racks for transporting two bicycles (on #jumpy only) are painted a luminous white. The elegant white is enlivened by blue and red rectangles scattered across the entire body like coloured blocks – a playful, “arty”, Mondrian-inspired colour scheme that give a fresh and energetic look to the two show cars. The combination of blue, white, and red also symbolises the pairing of two French brands that share the same attachment to know-how and French elegance that is at once joyful and uninhibited.

Their union is indicated with a “Citroën X le coq sportif” at the level of the doors on #jumpy and at the front end on the Type H. Similarly, a 70th anniversary logo (70ème anniversaire) appears on the #jumpy doors and the windscreen of the Type H.

The two show cars have a different spirit in side:

-  The Type H plays the authenticity and nostalgia card. It has a warm and simple feel about it that is cheerful and comfortable, with light-coloured woodwork made of different types of wood, like “batipin”, which lines the workshop and the wall where tools are hung. The seats in the cabin are upholstered in natural, chocolate-coloured leather, enhancing the cachet of the interior and playing on the theme of natural materials.
-  The New #jumpy strikes a modern and refined note. Its black woodwork contrasts with white leather seats accented with red, white, and blue topstitching.

These two models are presented in a video filmed at the CREPS velodrome in Bourges and Raymon Poulidor velodrome close to Limoges and at #lecoqsportif factory at Romilly-Sur-Seine. This iconic site and birthplace of #lecoqsportif more than 130 years ago, which the brand decided to move back into in 2010, displays French architectural audacity and know-how and bathes these show cars in an exceptional atmosphere that can be discovered by clicking on this link: https://youtu.be/P6Tk-QEAhOE
 
Following their World Premiere on the Citroën stand at the Birmingham Commercial Vehicle Show, these two vans will be on display at #lecoqsportif communications events. These enjoyable and original events, whether connected with cycling, the inauguration of points of sale, or the delivery of #lecoqsportif corners, will be relayed on social media with the hashtags CitroënJumpy LeCoqSportif

Type H – key points
Launch year: 1948
Production: 1948–1981
Number manufactured: 473,289
Length: 4.28 m
Type: Van
Number of doors: 4
Number of seats: 2
Innovation: the first front-wheel-drive, mass-produced van
Engine: 1911 cm3, 52 hp at 4000 rpm, 101km/h max

New #jumpy – key points
- An architecture adapted to every need with until 6,6m3 for useful volume, 1400 kg of payload and 2500 kg of mass remorquable.
- 3 lengths available, including the original, compact, and practical XS version, which is only 4.60 m long
- Height of just 1.90 m, allowing car park access
- Best-in-class regarding consumption thanks to its new platform (adapted by the EMP2) and its motorizations BlueHDi
- Exceptional modularity for the segment with Moduwork
- Hands-free sliding side doors
- Outstanding comfort on the road
- Technologies that make life easier (Top Rear Vision, colour head-up display, CITROËN Connect Nav)
- Safety-enhancing technologies (Adaptive Cruise Control, Speed Limit Recognition and Recommendation, Driver Attention Alert, and Active Safety Brake)
- Many body conversion options to meet needs in all trades, e.g. the 4WD conversion designed and produced by Automobiles Dangel.