The other Canguro
03/06/2026
When you talk about cars and hear the type designation "Canguro", then you immediately think of the beautiful Alfa Romeo Canguro from 1964 designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro for Bertone.
But we recently discovered that there is a second Canguro. It looks much less spectacular and is primarily an inexpensive car for craftsmen and other people with transportation tasks. That's why it was also called the "Citylaster" here, the Simca 1100 VF2.
In Italy, however, it was sold as the "Canguro", which stands for "kangaroo" (or babysitter). The name makes perfect sense, as the Simca 1100 offered plenty of space in the large rear bag. In Italy, the Canguro was one of 10 Simca 1100 variants available in 1975, of which the TI was the sportiest. How easy the Simca had it as a van against the Fiorino from Fiat would still have to be researched, but this competitor based on the Fiat 127/147 only came onto the market in 1977.
Incidentally, we even published a brochure about the Citylaster, which provided more detailed information about the small commercial vehicle.
