Record of mileages for Hydrostatic Transmission test vehicles (1960-1973)

Two handwritten sheets summarizing, car by car, the mileages accumulated by the test 2 CV, 3 CV and GS equipped with the hydrostatic transmission, between 1960 and 1973.

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Understanding this document

In this document

Sheet 1 (p. 7) — 2 CV and 3 CV, 1960-1973

The table lists nine test vehicles, with their driving periods and mileages:

No.	Vehicle	Period	Mileage
1	2 CV (A12)	7 Jan 1960 – 13 May 1966	295,660 km
2	2 CV (ELV 724)	20 Apr 1960 – 25 Apr 1966	31,375 km
3	2 CV (ELV 640)	18 Dec 1961 – 7 Oct 1963	39,877 km
4	3 CV (ELV 1140)	8 Apr 1965 – 10 Jan 1972	136,115 km
5	3 CV (ELV 874)	13 Jan 1966 – 13 Dec 1966	40,638 km
6	3 CV LABO (ELV 1128, La Ferté)	Feb 1967 – Mar 1969	84,132 km
7	3 CV LABO (ELV 1294, La Ferté)	13 Mar 1967 – Dec 1971	180,940 km
8	3 CV (ELV 1323)	Jun 1967 – Sep 1972	44,802 km
9	3 CV (ELV 1405)	Oct 1969 – Jun 1972	83,110 km

The total recorded is 936,649 km p. 7. A red annotation indicates a doubt ("douté") between lines 6 and 7 p. 7.

At the bottom of the page, a note attributed to "Mr. Meunier" specifies a mileage of 81,340 km for the ELV 1405, and a reference EP 3091.03.008H mentions 91,437 km accumulated on chassis no. 2 (ELV 1294 and 1323), dated 15/12/73 p. 7.

Sheet 2 (p. 8) — GS 1015 and GS 1220

Four additional GS vehicles are listed, distinguished by hydrostatic transmission generations:

No.	Vehicle	Model / generation	Period	Mileage
10	ELV 1583	GS 1015, 1st generation	Dec 70 – Sep 72	49,127 km
10	ELV 1583	GS 1220, 2nd generation	Dec 72 – Jul 73	15,690 km
10	ELV 1583	GS 1220, 3rd generation	Sep 73 →	5,870 km
11	ELV 1774	GS 1220, 2nd generation	May 1972 →	57,998 km
12	ELV 1654	GS 1015, 1st generation	Jan – Jul 72	17,237 km
12	ELV 1654	GS 1015, 2nd generation	Jul 72 – Feb 73	20,054 km
12	ELV 1654	GS 1220, 2nd generation	Feb 73 →	13,000 km
13	ELV 1832	GS 1220, 2nd generation	May 73 →	11,000 km

The total for this section is 189,976 km p. 8.

A summary dated 05/12/73 adds the two totals: "2 CV and 3 CV" 936,649 km and "GS 1015 and 1220 cm3" 189,976 km p. 8.

Other handwritten mentions appear in the margins: a crossed-out line referring to "2 CV 4/l - 1960-1966" with 31,371 km for the ELV 724, a blue box indicating "1 126.625 Km", as well as a crossed-out red box mentioning "Total", "14 cars" and "1.458.000 Km", dated 6/12/73 p. 8. The number "4157996", crossed out in red, remains of uncertain reading.

Context

Historically, the hydrostatic transmission was one of the major research projects of Paul Magès and his team at Citroën, aiming to replace the conventional clutch and gearbox with a hydraulic system of continuous reduction. The 2 CV and 3 CV (experimental versions derived from the 2 CV) as well as the GS, launched in 1970, served as rolling test benches for this research conducted over nearly fifteen years, notably at the La Ferté-Vidame test site.

Archivist's view

This document is an accounting summary table rather than a technical piece: it allows for measuring, with figures to support it, the scale and duration of the endurance test campaign for the hydrostatic transmission — nearly 1.1 million kilometers accumulated on thirteen vehicles between 1960 and 1973 p. 7-8.

The superimposed annotations (corrections in red pencil, note from Mr. Meunier, crossed-out "14 cars" box) suggest that this record was taken up and updated several times, probably for internal reporting needs at the end of 1973 — a period that corresponds to when Magès wrote his presentation on the hydrostatic transmission and his note on the transmission problem of vehicle L.

This record can be compared with the list of tests for 2 and 3 CV vehicles from 1968, which documents an earlier stage of this same test program.