Three-quarter front view of a 1925, Citroën C3 Cloverleaf, on display in the Paddock Area of the 2019 London Classic Car Show
This model replaced T3-1. Its door was enlarged by 12 cm compared to models T2 and T3-1. At the front, were two individual seats; the third seat was placed at the rear, in the centre, hence the nickname "Torpedo Trefle ". A passage between the front seats allowed access to the rear seat. Two small compartments were placed to the right and left of the rear seat. They were accessible from above and closed by a lid. Launched at the Paris Motor Show in October 1921, the Citroen Type C was aimed at a very specific and untapped market segment, the lady driver. Designed by Edmond Moyet (soon to be of Amilcar fame), the brief was to produce an easy to drive and maintain machine that would be below the 5CV fiscal tax bracket but offer more creature comforts than the typical cyclecar of the era. Initially it was only available as a two-seat open tourer with a pointed 'torpedo' tail and just one door on the passenger came from an 856cc four-cylinder side-valve engine with a single Solex carburettor, magneto ignition and an electric starter. Driving through a three-speed gearbox and with brakes to the rear wheels only, the car developed 11bhp and had a top speed of 40mph with 56mpg economy. Suspension was by quarter elliptics all round – rather bouncy but ideal for crossing fields! In 1924 a C2 model was introduced, soon followed by a slightly larger model, the C3. This long wheel base version had a wider door and itself came in two versions, the C3-2 as on offer here having the charming centrally mounted rear seat which gave the car the nickname ‘Trefle’ or ‘Cloverleaf’ Body colour: dark beige until December 24,then became : Bordeaux red, Canon blue or Havana. Seats and interior fittings in leatherette : red or black for red cars ; black for blue cars; brown or black for Havana cars. The floor covering was black brush carpet. Door storage pockets were fitted in the door and alongside the driver. The spare wheel was fitted at the back.
Size: 4571px × 3416px
Location: ExCel London, One Western Gateway, Royal Victoria Dock,
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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