Which Citroen economy car was introduced at the 1948 Paris Motor Show?

The Citroën 2CV was introduced at the 1948 Paris Motor Show.

Citroën unveiled the compact economy car at the Paris Salon on 7 October 1948, after its development had been delayed by World War II and postwar French production controls. It was designed to motorise rural France with an inexpensive, practical vehicle that could handle poor roads.

The 2CV used an air-cooled, horizontally opposed two-cylinder engine driving the front wheels. Its famously soft, long-travel suspension was intended to carry passengers and farm goods across rough fields, even with a basket of eggs aboard. The name 2CV refers to “deux chevaux,” or two taxable horsepower, rather than the engine’s actual horsepower.

It is sometimes confused with the Renault 4, another influential French economy car, but the Renault arrived later, in 1961. The 2CV remained in production from 1948 to 1990 and spawned related models including the Dyane, Ami and Méhari.