Citroën C15 1984-2005

The Citroën C15 was a panel van produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1984 until 2005. It was the successor to the Citroën Acadiane which had replaced the Citroën 2CV vans that pioneered the box van format in the 1950s - 1970s. The name refers to the car's 1,500 kg (3,310 lb) French gross vehicle weight rating.

The C15 was based on the Citroën Visa (discontinued 1988), and mainly used a 1769 cc XUD or 1868 cc (DW8 on late models), naturally aspirated (non-turbo) diesel engine. Until the early 1990s it was also available with a petrol PSA TU engine. While the car ahead of the B-pillar was mostly the same as a regular Citroën Visa, the cargo area was unique. The rear axle had to carry heavy loads and so a sturdier Citroën BX unit was installed rather than the Visa one.

As well as standard van configuration, the vehicle was available with rear side-windows and a rear seat, (which had been pioneered in the 2CV), which can be seen as a forerunner to today's utility vehicles such as the Ford Transit Connect, Opel/Vauxhall Combo, Citroën Berlingo and Peugeot Partner. The C15 was available without the rear box section, as a 'chassis only' model. Rare pickup truck versions were also made.

By 2005, when it was discontinued, production had reached 1,181,471. The last three built were given to:

[LIST][*]The government of Vigo city in Spain, where the production of this car was held for last few years[*]Museum of Citroën cars in Aulnay[*]One for the Vigo car factory, where it was built[/LIST]

Over its 21 year production run, there were various minor changes and upgrades made. Models with 600 kg and 800 kg load capacities were introduced (the original was 500 kg). Trim details were changed to give it a facelift in September 1989, when a lower grille with three cross bars was introduced, with the turn signals now mounted in the bumper and with an off-set Citroën logo. In 1992, side plastic trims were added, and the bonnet trim again changed somewhat.

The design was simple, but very reliable and effective, resulting in a remarkably successful 21-year production run, in comparison to the Visa hatchback from which it was derived, which was produced for only ten years. The C15 had a lengthened wheelbase, and a rear axle taken from the Peugeot 305 break. The vehicle is very basic by modern standards, but this made it cheap to build, cheap to run and hard to break.

The availability of the vehicle with a 'chassis only' rear portion encouraged various conversions. The C15 was used as a camper-van base by Island Plastics, branding the resulting vehicle the RomaHome. It was a surprisingly practical small camper for two people.

[SIZE="1"]Source: wikipedia.org[/SIZE]