Forgotten Hero – The Citroën Visa

The sales copy said it was "A serious challenge to those who are ahead of the Joneses" and asked potential buyers ", Do you sincerely want freedom of choice"? Equally importantly, it would allow the owner to progress "smugly in winter when other cars dig their own graves with their rear wheel drives". Meanwhile, Autocar described it as "the work of a precocious wilful child curbed carefully by an intelligent sensible, mother". It was, of course, the Citroën Visa.

Citroën began considering a replacement for the Ami at the end of the 1960s and, by the early 1970s, devised Project Y2 based on the chassis of the new Fiat 127. After the collaboration with Turin ended in 1973, Y2 used Citroën's engines. But Peugeot acquired the firm the following year; they decreed that Ami's heir would be Project VD - Voiture Diminuée - based on their 104.

And so, Jean Giret, Michel Harmand and Trevor Fiore devised bodywork that resembled neither the 104 nor any other small hatchback. The suspension was by Macpherson struts at the front, while the engine layouts were less conventional. The VD was one of the few cars with a choice of longitudinal or transverse motors - the former was the 2CV's air-cooled 652cc unit, while the flagship version had the four-cylinder light-alloy SOHC 1,124cc Douvrin plant.

The Visa debuted at the 1978 Paris Salon, with visitors marvelling at its bodywork and the cylindrical pod for the minor controls that Citroën named the Hyperlink and others referred to as the 'Coke Can'. The company cited the Visa as "an example of what can be achieved by a design office which is determined to express the true personality of its marque while using the full resources of a large industrial group”.

The initial choice of trim levels ranged from the Spécial and the Club to the heights of the Super. Autocar thought, "It still looks like its Citroen father - it couldn't help that with such a papa - but mère Peugeot shows up when you look at the children's legs and feet and indeed heart in the case of the elder brother".

British sales began in late 1979 with the Visa's five doors as a major selling point - the occupants could exit "like a human, not like trapped elephants". In terms of its European rivals, the Fiat 127, Ford Fiesta and VW Polo came with only three doors, while the Peugeot 104 and the Renault 5 had a different, more orthodox, image.

Motor found the performance from the Club's twin-cylinder engine "distinctly sluggish", the top speed less than 76 mph and "while Citroën devotees may not be surprised by the large roll angles, we disliked them". However, they praised the ride comfort, and dealers could also point out that at £2,950, the Club was only £217 more expensive than the very Spartan entry-level Fiesta.

But Citroën believed the Visa's sales falling short of expectation was due to its looks. In 1981, a second-generation model with a more conventional front was restyled by coachbuilder Heuliez. Many enthusiasts, including this writer, mourned the passing of the original "snub-nose" models. To quote Car of February 1980:

This is the time to come clean. We are among those who love the Citroën Visa's styling, who think its ride/handling compromise is just fine, and who can live with its engine’s meagre performance because of its character, its fuel consumption – and because across the ground the car is little slower than one with twice or even three times the engine capacity.

Car also described the Visa as “inspiring” - which it was.