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Citroën 'Cirila' restored in Manzanares: Celebrating the centenary

CITROËN «CIRILA» PHOTOS: CITROËN SPAIN

2019 closed with the Citroën centenary. One of the main celebrations of the past year, which has left us not only with a long list of concentrations and events related to the brand, but also with some good restoration stories. One of them is this one that we bring to the pages of La Escudería, which has a marked national flavor. Specifically from La Mancha, since Citroën has been responsible for recovering this Cirila in Manzanares.

Many will think that, put to rescue a Citroën in full centenary, his would have been to opt for a magnificent SM. But the truth is that there are two things that, at least for us, characterize this French brand above all: innovation and practicality. And boy, playing with those characteristics the popularly called Cirila is unbeatable.

Why? Basically because this derivative of the Citroën 2CV was responsible for equipping a good part of the Spanish countryside. A vehicle for day-to-day life capable of withstanding all kinds of efforts thanks to the roughness of its mechanics and the surprising travel of the suspensions. Signs of identity of the French brand, which curdled in the Cirila a car burned into the sentimental imagination of millions of people. Also from La Mancha Juan Mata.

citroen cirilla

PARTNER FOR LIFE: JUAN MATA'S CITROËN CIRILA

If Citroën celebrated 100 years last 2019 ... Juan Mata's Cirila turned 40. Four decades since the father of this driver acquired the van in the Citroën workshops in Manzanares (Ciudad Real). Throughout all that time, the vehicle has accompanied Juan Mata from the beginning at the wheel. Being in the military service where he learned to drive, when he returned to his hometown, he turned Cirila into his working instrument.

A rough and reliable instrument, since the family used it for agricultural tasks. Something that anyone who has driven a 2CV or drifted through the country knows that these vehicles master perfectly. Consumption? Very low Mechanics? Simple and effective. Weight? Not that Colin Chapman had assembled it. Behavior? The envy of any all-terrain, something like a version "Low cost" of the most spartan 4 × 4.

Adding days and days of work together, Juan Mata was taking a personal appreciation for Cirila. Something like the sailor who sees his ship not only as his livelihood, but as an extension of himself. Therefore, and even after the death of his father in 2006 he continued to keep the Citroën. The same one that had made work easier for the family, but that had also taken them to the sea for the first time from the depths of the dry land of La Mancha.

RESTORED TO THE LAST SCREW

Within the centennial activities, Citroën Spain decided to select some units that, due to their history, had a special meaning for their owners. Obviously, after everything we have told you before… You will imagine that Cirila de Juan Mata had many ballots to be selected by the brand.

A most fortunate selection, as it has culminated in the complete restoration of the vehicle. Even its smallest detail, intervening in the process sheet metal workers, painters, mechanics and specialists in electromechanics. Basically the entire Citroën de Manzanares squad, which disassembled the van piece by piece to make it like new.

citroen cirilla

And yes, you read that correctly, because to curl the curl of this beautiful story the restoration process has been carried out by the same dealer in which grandfather Gabriel acquired the Cirila in 1979. A most fortunate end for a Citroën that just as transported eight hard-working laborers on bumpy roads, as it took a whole family from La Mancha to the Mediterranean.

What do you think?

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Written by Miguel Sánchez

Through the news from La Escudería, we will travel the winding roads of Maranello listening to the roar of the Italian V12; We will travel Route66 in search of the power of the great American engines; we will get lost in the narrow English lanes tracking the elegance of their sports cars; We will speed up the braking in the curves of the Monte Carlo Rally and we will even get dusty in a garage while rescuing lost jewels.

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