You see what’s interesting about this old Citroën 2CV brochure? Well, I mean all 2CV brochures are interesting, at least to me, but this 1963 British-market Citroën brochure does something pretty novel and useful: every car it shows, it lists its top speed and fuel economy, two pretty important numbers when you’re car shopping. Nowadays, top speed may be less of a big deal, since that number is almost assuredly enough to get your ass thrown in jail in any state in the Union, but back in 1963, that wasn’t always the case. Like for this 2CV, which could hit a blistering 56 mph, flat out. It could also get 56 mpg. That’s nice, that 56 mph/mpg symmetry, right? I wonder if there’s other cars that can claim a similar symmetry?
Here’s that full brochure page, by the way, which includes the DS (100 mph, 25-30 mpg)/ID (90 mph, 25-30 mpg), and the Ami 6 (65 mph, 43-52 mpg) along with the venerable 2CV:
So, only the 2CV has that speed/economy balance. The only other car I can think of that advertised a similarly symmetrical set of speed and fuel-sipping numbers is the tiny Berkeley sports car, which had made claims of being a “double 70” car: 70 mph and 70 mpg. It’s mentioned in media of the era:
Of course, when I drove a Berkeley, I had a blast but I do not think it would have hit 70 mph:
Maybe with some gale-force tailwinds and a nice steep, roller-coaster-like incline it could but I’m a bit skeptical. And Berkeley’s own ads seemed to back off those claims when it came to economy:
See? They’re just claiming 60 mpg and 70 mph. They’re really sticking with that 70 mph, so maybe it is possible?
But 60 mpg/70 mph isn’t a nice neat 70/70 so I’m not sure this counts. 60/60 I bet it could do! Does that count, even if it was never advertised that way?
Are there other symmetrical cars I’m forgetting about? A 50/50 should be possible. An original Fiat 500 could do 50/50, but, again, I’m not sure I’ve seen it advertised that way. Still, maybe that could count? The VW XL1 could do about 100 mph, but VW claimed much better fuel economy: 261 mpg.
I feel like there could be a 100/100 car. Maybe an 80/80? Now I want to know.
“I can get 70 miles to the gallon on this hog!”
Finally! A relevant place to share this detail about my 2006 Vespa GT200
Top speed: ~70 MPH
Fuel Economy: ~70 MPG
Both are variable based on the size of the rider.
The BMW i3 BEV debuted with 130 km of range and a 130kw electric motor.
My current Kona EV has 201hp and gets about 201 miles per charge at freeway speeds.
I’m sure there are a few EV with symmetry in range – power or KWh – top speed or HP – battery voltage. Lots are very close
I bet it would be easier to find electric examples with speed/range.
Jason, technically the 2cv is only symmetrical in imperial units. US customary units have different volume measurements, so 56 mpg in the empire is only 47 mpg in the freedom lands.
Top speed in theory or actual top speed among drivers of that model?
I submit the Toyota Prius. 50 on a good day / 50 on a good day
…yes I drive one, why do you ask?
Not quite the same as the speed/economy symmetry but the early Panhard Dyna Z, of which I have one, from 1954, was often advertised as having these specs: 6 places, 6 liters, and 130 kmh.
https://www.automobilia-ladenburg.de/image/pool/4/md/1026.jpg
https://www.delcampe.net/static/img_large/auction/001/932/058/536_001.jpg?v=1
6 places = 6 seats
6 liters = approx. 40 mpg (6 liters per 100 km)
130 kmh = 80 mph
The Dyna Z was also successful in racing and this ad has a bit of symmetry:
https://classiccarcatalogue.com/P/panhard%201954%20dyna1.jpg
The Dyna Z also did quite well at Monte Carlo:
http://panhard-racing-team.fr/wp-content/uploads/DUGAT-55-3.jpg
Such racing results might be surprising in light of the Dyna Z having only two cylinders in a four-stroke 851 cc engine but actually not so surprising in light of having exceptional suspension and steering systems, lightweight aluminum body construction, and highly sophisticated engine technology (horizontal cylinders, needle roller bearings for the crankshaft, torsion bars for the valves in lieu of valve springs, etc, etc, in front-wheel drive) which made for a very respectable 42 to 50 hp. For comparison, the contemporary (’54) VW Beetle, while also rocking horizontal cylinders, had four cylinders and 1192 cc producing just 36 hp.
You own a dyna z ? I’m jealous, you have great taste.
Thank you 🙂 yes, my kid, who had recently graduated from high school, and I were extremely fortunate in finding one for sale close by and at a price we could afford. Those Panhards had long been on both our wishlists. We’re in the midst of rebuilding the brake system, rebuilding the carburetor, and tracking down a metal (aluminum, likely) cam gear to replace the disconcertingly fragile fiber cam gear (for those of you who might not know, fiber cam gears were actually pretty common in the 50s; early VW Beetles had them though VW switched to metal fairly early but Cadillac actually continued using fiber cam gears well into the 90s! Fiber cam gears tend to be quieter than metal ones, hence Cadillac’s persistence with them.) Hopefully I can post something about our work on the Dyna Z on this website (or associated social media) sooner rather than later.
VW rabbit diesel, 52 hp, 52 mpg? It would go faster than 52 mph tho……..eventually.
Hey, I daily-drove a 1985 VW Jetta 1.6 diesel, not even turbo, for many years (until it was totalled last summer by some damn schmuck running a red light) and it was perfectly fine. I just didn’t challenge anyone to traffic light drag races, ha. It did very well in modern traffic and could cruise at 75-80 mph on the interstate (even as traffic was passing by, it’s surprising how many people feel comfortable about driving at even higher speeds, gah.) The Jetta also had 52 hp and I could achieve 52 mpg (until the injection pump developed leaks so fuel efficiency dropped to the low 40s/high 30s; was about to replace the injection pump but alas the Jetta was totalled.)
And here’s Jason’s compelling argument about 50 hp:
https://www.theautopian.com/you-only-need-50-hp-to-get-by-even-in-modern-traffic/
That said, some of the older diesels, such as Mk1 VW diesels and heavy non-turbo Mercedes diesels, could indeed have rather leisurely acceleration, especially if they weren’t fully sorted.
My MB 240D had 72hp and would go 72mph on a good day.
Has there ever been a wilder lineup than that Citroen one?
I would happily take one of each
Gurgel’s?
I’d never heard of them before, wow!
Wild is the word. They are each so dramatically different that you’d honestly think they were from different companies. At the very least they must have been the responsibility of different departments, and thus we have a pure example of Conway’s Law in action.
Just looking at the rear-wheel treatment alone, we have four interpretations of how much ankle we should be flashing.
Four wildly-divergent C-pillars.
The body rake varies from headlights-to-the-moon through flat to the 2CV’s dog-following-a-scent.
The DS Estate even has a completely different roof/windscreen/A-pillar junction to the regular car!
Musta been like herding cats…
Hymmer H1.
1mpg
1 mph
Not speed/economy, but the facelifted ‘SN197’ Mustang with the 3.7 V6 and automatic transmission was much touted for offering both 300 hp and 30 mpg. Thought it is worth noting that was during Ford’s ‘inflationary period’ for window sticker fuel economy figures…
Does 4 doors, 4 wheels, 4 seats count?
If you’re prepared to accept the silliness that is MPGe then a lot of EVs are in the symmetrical range.
An exact match is the Ioniq 5 RWD, it gets 114 MPGe and goes 114mph.
The Koenigsegg One:1 had a symmetrical power to weight ratio.
Isuzu P’up Diesel, 58hp, 58mpg, 58mph uphill, 58 seconds to the 58mph, it checks all the boxes!(not actual stats, but felt like it)
My TW200 had to be close advertised 78 mpg and about that same top speed.
Was there ever a more wildly eclectic lineup than the 1963 Citroens? OK, maybe the years when Chevy made both the Chevette and the C4…
At least Chevy had a few things in between! I think the Ami is 2CV-derived so we’re looking at “basically a 2CV” or “basically a DS” in that list.
The 1992 Dodge lineup had Ram trucks and Ramchargers dating from 1980, squared off 80s K car sedans, Misubishi imports, and the Viper.
I had a ’69 Lincoln Continental that got 9mpg and could pass an average of 9 gas stations before it needed refueling.
My hot rodded Olds 442 and Dodge Challenger each got about 5-7 as I recall. Gas was about 25 Kanadian kopecs back then.
I expect my Fiat 500 is pretty close to 45 mph and 45 mpg.
My 1917 Stephens is also symmetrical, 37hp and 37mph.
Honda Insight Gen 1, 67HP and 67MPG
My Dakota is 15 ft long and gets 15mpg. My Charger is 7 ft wide and gets 7 mpg.
So. i’m not hip to the imperial/us conversion factor, but that British ad means the 2CV only did the double/double in the UK, and for the Berkeley, perhaps the “is said to yield” 70 mpg was a Brit claim too? which would explain the ad stating 60 mpg here? i can’t make out if that is a US-targeted ad or UK.
The original viper got 12 mpg and did a 12 second 1/4 mile.
Both measures improved to 11 by the later cars.
My diesel Range Rover got about 25 mpg, and it spent an average of 25 days per month in the shop, so…