Citroën 2CV AZA: the 18 hp 2CV that marked the model's maturity

February 1963: the AZ becomes the AZA

When Citroën renamed the AZ as the AZA in February 1963, the aim was not to launch a completely new model. The 2CV's foundations remained intact: an air-cooled flat twin, low weight, long-travel suspension, light bodywork and easy maintenance. What changed was the way the car coped on the road. After the first real step forward brought by the 1954-1956 2CV AZ, the AZA became a second stage, less spectacular perhaps, but more decisive in everyday use.

The 1949-1990 evolution document records this turning point clearly: the AZ becomes the AZA, engine output rises to 18 hp and the 2CV adopts a different rhythm. In such a light car, what looks like a modest gain is enough to change acceleration, cruising ability and the way the car holds its own on secondary roads.

The AZA therefore has to be read as a mature 2CV rather than a stylistic break. It extends the practical intelligence of the TPV project, but carries it towards a more complete car, one capable of handling less rural journeys and a public already used to travelling faster.

18 hp, Solex 28 CBI and 8 x 29 final drive: a small engine used more effectively

The clearest figure is the engine output: 18 hp from February 1963 onward. The same document points to a modified crankshaft, cylinders and pistons, together with a Solex 28 CBI carburettor. The quoted top speed climbs to 95 km/h, while fuel consumption still sits at around 6 litres per 100 kilometres. In other words, the AZA does not become fast in any modern sense. It simply becomes better matched to its period.

Citroën also revises the transmission, with an 8 x 29 final drive in place of the previous 8 x 31. This seems like a minor detail, but it says a great deal about the brand's method: no spectacular effect, just a better match between engine, gearbox and real-world use. The AZA remains frugal, yet it is less penalised once the road opens up or the car carries a load.

• Quoted output: 18 hp from February 1963.
• Fuel system: Solex 28 CBI carburettor.
• Quoted performance: 95 km/h and around 6 l/100 km.
• Transmission: 8 x 29 final drive instead of 8 x 31.
• Sales listing: the AZA was offered with either a conventional or centrifugal clutch.

This progress remains fully consistent with what had defined the 2CV from the start. The car keeps its supple suspension, direct mechanical access, modest dimensions and low running costs. It does not stop being a people's car. It becomes a better sorted people's car.

AZA, AZAM, then AZA alone: a range that becomes clearer

The spring of 1963 says a great deal about Citroën's strategy. In March, the 2CV AZAM arrives. The AZA therefore does not disappear as the range moves upward. On the contrary, it becomes the technical core around which Citroën differentiates trim and presentation more clearly.

This coexistence matters. It shows that the 2CV is no longer just one car adjusted in small steps. It becomes a family. Some versions go further in presentation, others stay more sober, but the mechanical basis and overall usefulness still hold the line together.

The process becomes even clearer afterwards. In April 1967, the AZAM is renamed AZAM Export. Then, in September 1967, Citroën drops the AZAM and the AZAM Export: only the AZA and its ENAC version remain. Historically this is a key moment. It puts the AZA back at the centre of the 2CV range before the naming logic changes in the 1970s. To follow the chronology properly, it helps to start from the broader 2CV story and then read the AZA as the version that carries the middle years of the 1960s.

1968 and the A53 engine: evolution without rupture

In March 1968, the AZA receives the new A53 engine, with compression raised from 7.5:1 to 7.75:1. Here again, Citroën improves the 2CV by precise corrections rather than by revolution. The architecture does not enter a different world, but each change aims to make the car more regular, more responsive and better suited to faster-moving traffic.

This continuity explains why the AZA can seem less spectacular than other milestones in the 2CV's career. Yet historically it matters a great deal. It gradually closes the era of the AZ, AZL and AZAM names and prepares the simpler commercial reading that will arrive with the 2CV4 and 2CV6.

When those new names appear in February 1970, the landscape changes. The 2CV enters a different range logic, more immediately readable through engine and position. The AZA then appears as the last major moment in the old naming system, when the classic 2CV had already become a fully mature car without yet moving entirely into the commercial designations of the 1970s.

What the AZA represents in 2CV history

The 2CV AZA is neither the most stripped back, nor the most decorated, nor the most powerful 2CV. That is precisely what makes it interesting. It sits where Citroën finds a convincing balance between simplicity, running costs and ease of use. It stays faithful to the brand's popular logic, but shows that this logic can become more efficient without losing its honesty.

To understand this position, it has to be placed back within the long thread of Citroën history. The brand often progressed in exactly this way: not by loading its models with gratuitous sophistication, but by working on the precise mechanical detail that changes real use. The AZA is a good example. Between the fairly austere 2CV of the mid-1950s and the 2CV4/2CV6 range that follows, it forms the strongest link.

Today the AZA reads less like a mere factory code than like a hinge point. It is the 2CV that keeps the essentials, but already travels with more assurance. A very simple car still, but one more confident in its role, its mechanics and its place within the range.

Sources

1. 2CV Club Niortais: Evolution de la 2CV
2. Citroën / Stellantis Media: Historic, Iconic, Legendary: Citroën Celebrates 75 Years of the 2CV
3. Citroën: official centenary history dossier
4. Wikimedia Commons: File:Citroen-2CV-AZA-AZAM-sixties-byRundvald.jpg
5. Wikimedia Commons: File:Citroen_2CV_(14599394887).jpg