Car Of The Day: March 23, 2011

Today's car of the day is Corgi's 1967 Citroën Dyane.

The Citroën Dyane is an economy car/supermini produced by the French automaker Citroën from 1967 to 1983. It was based on the Citroën 2CV, and 1,444,583 Dyanes were produced. The Dyane spawned a panel van version called the Acadiane.

For more information and pictures of the real car please visit: Dyane Citroën

Not as well-known as the 2CV, the Dyane was nonetheless made by both Corgi and Majorette.  The Majorette is the nicer of the two models, but the Corgi has an opening hatch and captures the lines of the car well.

The Dyane was a development of the Citroën 2CV, and was intended as an answer to the increasingly popular Renault 4, which after its introduction in 1961 had affected 2CV sales. The Renault 4 incorporated many ideas copied from the Citroën Traction Avant, but on a smaller scale. Like the Renault 4, the Dyane was designed from the outset as a hatchback with some other styling differences, such as conventional round headlamps set into the front fender with a squared chrome trim ring – as opposed to the old-fashioned separate units found on the 2CV – and stainless steel wheel embellishments as standard. It is often believed that the Dyane was intended to replace the 2CV, but it was aimed slightly higher in the Citroën range – between the 2CV and the Ami – and attracted a different clientele seeking the versatility offered by the Dyane's hatchback. From the mid 1950s until the 1970 Citroën GS, Citroën had no car in the mid size market segment and needed to make the most of the capable Citroën 2CV chassis