Citroën Sales Argumentary "Face to Face" No. 2: R4 Luxe vs 2 CV6 (March 1973)

In this document

This internal booklet "MPP – Sales Methods – Argumentation" (March 1973) compares the Renault 4 Luxe and the Citroën 2 CV6, "strictly reserved for the information of the Citroën Network and Staff" pp. 16-19.

Bodywork and dimensions

Both cars share a "platform chassis" structure and 4 seats p. 16. The R4 weighs 635 kg empty compared to 560 kg for the 2 CV6, with comparable boot capacities (295-1185 dm³ vs 290-1250 dm³) p. 16. The document judges that "neither is pretty" but that the 2 CV has "a certain charm" while the R4 "seems to have already aged" p. 16.

Technical specifications

The engine comparison pits a 782 cm³ water-cooled inline 4-cylinder (R4, 30 hp SAE) against a 602 cm³ air-cooled flat-twin (2 CV6, 33 hp SAE) p. 17. Top speed measured by L'Auto-Journal at Montlhéry: 110.5 km/h for the R4, 108.1 km/h for the 2 CV6 p. 17. The text highlights that the 2 CV, thanks to its "constant-velocity joints", has lost its steering vibrations, and that its suspension, "particularly comfortable", benefits from "large wheels" p. 17.

Equipment and price

The 2 CV6 is credited with a "vanity mirror", a "rear parcel shelf" and a voltmeter absent from the R4 Luxe, whose spare wheel is deemed "inaccessible" p. 18. Catalogue price including tax February 1973: 8,500 F (R4 Luxe) vs 8,380 F (2 CV6) p. 18.

The tester's point of view and "feminine" perspective

The tester finds the R4 "not exciting" due to a "too dated finish", while the 2 CV6 is described as "the cheapest of the convertibles" p. 18. The "feminine" text criticises the ergonomics of the R4 in detail ("microscopic" accelerator pedal, rear window difficult to handle) and praises the 2 CV as "the car for everyone", citing the adventure stories of J.-C. Baudot and Jacques Séguéla (La Terre en rond) and Henri Lochon and Éric de Nackert p. 19.

Context

Historically, the Renault 4 (1961) and the Citroën 2 CV (1948, here in the "6" version with a 602 cm³ engine launched in 1970) are the two French benchmarks for the popular car of the 1960s-70s, in direct competition in this segment.

This type of "Face to Face" booklet was a common commercial practice among manufacturers: providing network salespeople with comparative arguments, often biased, to counter competing models in the showroom.

Archivist's view

This document illustrates, outside of Paul Magès' engineering work on hydropneumatic suspension, how Citroën promoted the "popular" qualities of the 2 CV to its sales network — simplicity, robustness, image — rather than its raw performance, which was judged to be close to that of the competitor p. 17.

It seems that this booklet belongs to a series of regular sales support materials ("No. 2" indicated in the file title), intended to accompany the launch or commercial defence of entry-level models against Renault, at a time when Citroën was also preparing the launch of more upmarket models like the CX. The chronological proximity to the technical characteristics brochure for 1973 saloons suggests consistency in the brand's technical and commercial communication during this period.

The "feminine" section p. 19, rare in this type of document, deserves to be noted as a sociological testimony on gendered automotive marketing of the early 1970s.