Baby-Brousse

The Baby-Brousse is a Citroën 2CV-based utility vehicle, initially privately built, that later spawned the FAF series of vehicles.

Similar to a metal-bodied Citroën Méhari, the Baby-Brousse was a success with more than 28,000 being built from 1963 to 1983. The entire body was made of folded sheet metal with the other parts being bolted together [1][2] without welding.

Background

The Baby-Brousse was originally conceived in 1963 by two Frenchmen, Messrs. Letoquin and Lechanteurin, owners of Les Ateliers et Forges de l’Ebrié, a company in Abidjan, the capital of the Ivory Coast.[2]

Sales figures
  • Baby Brousse in Ivory Coast (1963–1979), 1,320 built.[3]

Badge engineered Baby Brousses have been made and sold under different names in several places:

  • SAIPAC Mehari in Iran (1970–1979),[4][5] 9,315 vehicles.[3]
  • Citroën Yagán in Chile (1973–1976), 651 examples[3] (or 1,500 examples?).[6]
  • Namco Pony in Thessalonika, Greece (1974–83),[3] built with Dyane 6 components in a specifically built factory. These had better build quality and equipment than others. 30,000 examples were built[7] (16,680 according to Marie & Étienne Christian).[3]
  • Mehari in Senegal (1979–1983), ± 500 vehicles.[8]
  • Citroën Yagán
  • Namco Pony

Other similar Citroën-based vehicles

Based on the same concept as the Baby-Brousse, the Vietnamese Citroën Dalat (1969–1975)[9][10] was manufactured, with 3,850 examples produced.[3] Its creator, Jacques Duchemin, proposed the FAF concept to Citroën when he came back to France after the fall of Saigon.

The first FAFs were built in 1977, at the Citroën plant in Mangualde, Portugal.[3] In Argentina: Savoiacars , has prepared some cars based in the Méhari, with improved platform and engine, and another with body of their own design.

References
  1. "2CVTV - 2CVTV - the English language 2CV lifestyle, news and information website". 2cvtv.com. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
  2. Julian Marsh. "Citroën Baby Brousse - Dalat - Mehari - Méhari - Pony - Yagán". citroenet.org.uk. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
  3. Marie Christian & Étienne Christian (2014). 2CV Citroën - Ses dérivés, Baby Brousse, Dalat, FAF et autres (in French). L'Autodrome Éditions. ISBN 978-2-910434-39-7.
  4. http://www.citroenet.org.uk/foreign/iran/jiane/jiane.html
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-04-25. Retrieved 2017-04-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. http://www.autopasion18.com/HISTORIA-YAGAN.htm
  7. "The "poor man's jeep" is back on the Greek roads". GR Reporter. 10 May 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  8. Julian Marsh/Pierre 'Rotule'. "Méhari - the Sénégalese Baby Brousse". Citroënnët. Retrieved August 14, 2017.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-04-10. Retrieved 2017-04-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-07-29. Retrieved 2017-04-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)


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