We often confuse the Citroën Baby Brousse with the Méhari. However, the two projects have nothing in common and the very origin of the Baby Brousse owes nothing to Citroën.
This vehicle comes from the imagination of two French people, Messrs Letoquin and Lechanteur, owners of Ateliers et Forges de l’Ebrié, a company located in Abidjan in Ivory Coast.
An African Citroën
The two men had the idea of designing a vehicle adapted to Africa, and easy to maintain. The Baby Brousse therefore uses the chassis and mechanical components of the Ami 6.
But to make it a real adventurer, capable of withstanding the harsh African tracks, the two men gave it a pressed steel body.
A guarantee of resistance and solidity, but also of savings. This manufacturing technique does not require any welding, it will be easy to produce in Ivory Coast.
Negotiations with Citroën
The two men will produce around 800 vehicles, while starting negotiations with the French manufacturer, to formalize things.
The idea is to obtain an official supply of components and engines, while integrating the Baby Brousse into the Citroën range sold on the African continent.
In 1969, Citroën bought the license for the Baby Brousse design from the Ateliers et Forges de l’Ebrié with a view to extending the marketing of the machine.
A global vehicle
With Citroën’s agreement, small series manufacturing began in Ivory Coast in 1970 and the Baby Brousse was a real success given the size of the local car fleet.
1,320 copies were sold according to the manufacturer’s archives. The Baby Brousse offers four seats in a body without doors and a folding windshield. But she will soon experience other horizons.
In South Vietnam, a version called Dalat entered production, although Citroën’s official participation in the project was not clearly established.
In 1973, the French manufacturer imported three Dalat bodies to France for study. For its part, the local manufacturer had proposed a 4X4 version to Citroën, but without any agreement signed in both cases.
A success that inspires the FAF
The agreements continue, from Guinea Bissau to Senegal, via the Central African Republic, Vietnam and even Iran. Further still, the car is produced in Chile or even in Indonesia.
The only European production of Baby Brousse will be in Greece. Faced with this success, Citroën will develop a fairly similar concept, the Citroën FAF, for ease of manufacture.
Much later, the brand reinvented the Baby Brousse, with the Méhari, intended for leisure and equipped with a plastic body. Simplicity is always good.
