The most beautiful swan of all - Do you know the Citroën 2CV Allemano?
There were many attempts to turn Citroën's ugly duckling into a pretty swan: from the rear conversion kit for a two-seater roadster to the completely re-bodied plastic coupé with factory support. But even before the Citroën Bijou rolled off the production line in Slough in 1959 for an Anglo-Saxon 2CV clientele with high aesthetic standards, an idea for an elegant coupé based on the Döschwo was already maturing at a Citroën branch outside France.
At the Belgian headquarters in Forest, where ducks had also been assembled since October 1952, a similar idea was already maturing in 1955. As the Italians were considered to be far more capable coachbuilders than the English, the Belgians turned south for their noble duck, more precisely to the Carrozzeria Allemano in Turin. There they tailored a two-door coupé based on a Citroën 2CV from Forest production, the lines of which were very similar to the Marquis presented in 1954 and the later Alpine A 106.
The front with its simple, oval air intake corresponded to the typical Allemano face of those years. The hood was opened using a push button and a handle above it. As befits an Italian sports coupé from the fifties, the interior of the Spezialente naturally features a Nardi wooden steering wheel. Of particular interest, however, is the radiator grille, which, with the double angle integrated into two trim strips, anticipated a feature of the modern Citroën face, which made its debut in August 2004 with the facelift of the C5.
There is a little uncertainty about the engine. On the net, one reads about the small 375 cubic engine with 9 SAE hp from the 2CV A, which cannot be ruled out. However, if Allemano had received a brand-new chassis from Citroën Belgium, as was customary at the time, it would have been that of the 2CV AZ with the 12 hp engine enlarged to 425 cubic centimeters. Just as interesting as it is unclear is the origin of the hubcaps, which differ slightly from those of the 2CV AZL.
Perhaps a reader here knows more. We would be delighted to receive information on the history and whereabouts of this one-off. Although much prettier than the UMAP 425 SM and other later coupé creations, the Allemano duck did not go into series production.
