The Citroën M35 was a
coupé
A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and typically with two doors.
The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the Fr ...
derived from the
Ami 8, and equipped with a
Wankel engine
The Wankel engine (, ) is a type of internal combustion engine using an eccentric (mechanism), eccentric Pistonless rotary engine, rotary design to convert pressure into rotating motion. The concept was proven by German engineer Felix Wankel, f ...
and a
hydropneumatic
Hydropneumatic devices (or hydro-pneumatic devices) are systems that operate using water and gas. The devices are used in various applications.
Description
A hydropneumatic device is a tool that functions by using water and gas. ''Hydropneumati ...
suspension. The bodies were produced by
Heuliez from 1969 to 1971.The longitudinally mounted rotary engine had a nominal capacity of 498 cc delivering and of torque. According to factory figures the car had a performance roughly on a level with that of a
Morris 1300.
It could accelerate from 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 19 seconds, 10 seconds faster than an
Ami 8, and reach a top speed of about . The M35 also used a larger 11-gallon (43-liter) fuel tank to improve range, as the fuel tank in the standard Ami 8 was deemed too small. The engine was so smooth running that Citroën fitted an audible alarm that went off as the car approached its redline of 7,000 rpm. The
engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...
was supplied by a company formed in 1967 by
NSU and
Citroën
Citroën ()The double-dot diacritic over the 'e' is a diaeresis () indicating the two vowels are sounded separately, and not as a diphthong. is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded on 4 June 19 ...
called
Comotor.
The M35 was an experimental vehicle and was not officially sold - rather it was supplied to loyal Citroën customers to get their comments on the usability of the design. Due to its experimental status, each car featured a banner at the bottom of the rear window which read in French “This Citroën M35 prototype fitted with a rotary piston engine is undergoing long term testing at the hands of a Citroën customer.”. Many aspects of the M35 made it to regular production. The rotary engine was deemed satisfactory and a dual rotor version of it was used in the
GS Birotor in 1974; the gearbox used in the M35 was the GS 1015's gearbox (albeit with a normal shift pattern); certain suspension parts found their way into the GS line when it was introduced in 1970 and the seats that reclined just above the waist were found in none other than the
SM.
References
Further reading
*
External links
Citroën M35
M35 M35, M.35 or M-35 may refer to:
Military
* M35 series 2½-ton 6×6 cargo truck, a US Army truck
* , a Royal Navy mine countermeasures vessel launched in 1982
* ADGZ or ''M35 Mittlere Panzerwagen'', a 1930s Austrian Army heavy armored car
* Cannone ...
Cars powered by Wankel engines
Cars introduced in 1969
{{Classicpow-auto-stub
1970s cars
Cars discontinued in 1971