Did you know…? Key facts about the Conservatoire

Conservatoire in 2001, C4 C6G B2 Caddy

On 28 November 2001, Mr Pierre Peugeot, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of PSA Peugeot Citroën, and Mr Claude Satinet, Managing Director of Automobiles Citroën, are inaugurating Le Conservatoire, showcase of the Brand’s heritage, in Aulnay-sous-Bois.

The centre houses more than 300 Citroën models, together with a vast quantity of documentation and a host of souvenirs directly linked to the Brand’s history. The role of Le Conservatoire is fundamentally different to that of a museum, since it will not be open to the public. It has been set up to house and maintain examples of the vehicles produced by Citroën since its founding up to the present day, and to manage the Brand’s archives in their entirety.

A PARTICULARLY FAVOURABLE BACKDROP

The inauguration of Le Conservatoire takes place against a particularly favourable backdrop for Citroën, which is thus able to establish a link between its rich and eventful history and its strong present-day performance. The Brand’s range of rich, diversified and recent models reflects its ability to innovate, and bears testimony to the remarkable impetus that has characterised Citroën in recent years.

Through this strategy of innovation, Citroën has been able to satisfy and even to anticipate customer requirements. The HDi engines, for example, have prompted a wave of enthusiasm for diesel vehicles, while multiplex electrics have paved the way for a host of new functions on most Citroën models. Last, the Berlingo, Xsara Picasso, C5 and C3 express new ways of using interior space, with their original styling.

BALANCED, STRONG AND CONSTANT GROWTH: 52% IN FIVE YEARS

Over the past few years, these innovations have led to fast growth in Citroën sales worldwide. In 2000, the Brand beat its own historic sales record for the fourth year running. With 1,140,000 vehicles sold, the Brand grew sales by more than 13.2% on 1999, an increase of more than 133,000 units. Citroën has seen sales grow by 52% over the past five years. In 2001, the Brand is consolidating this exceptional growth.

Results for the first ten months show an increase of 11.5% despite a relatively unfavourable backdrop (stagnant European market). This growth is balanced in that it is distributed fairly evenly across all markets and involves all the models in the range. New vehicles currently in the pipeline, such as the Citroën C3 scheduled for launch in April 2002, are expected to further boost this trend.

CITROËN INAUGURATES LE CONSERVATOIRE, SHOWCASE OF THE BRAND’S HERITAGE

Today’s results can also be said to spring from the history of the Brand. More than any other carmaker, Citroën can lay proud claim to a story that is also the history of the 20th century. Citroën has made its mark on every age, with innovations whose impact stretches far beyond that of the automotive industry alone, to encompass design, architecture, industry, marketing and advertising.

THE ARCHITECTURAL WEALTH OF CITROËN’S BUILDINGS EXPRESSES THE HISTORY OF THE BRAND

The history of the Brand is also the history of its premises and buildings, some of which are regarded as striking illustrations of urban architecture. These historic sites reflect the Brand’s history and provide a link between past and present. It was for this reason that Citroën chose to build its new head office – opened in 2001 – on one of the Brand’s historic sites. The new building is on the site of the old Epinettes factory, opened in 1924 for the cold-stamping of metal parts.

The decision to build Le Conservatoire next to the Aulnay-sous-Bois plant reflects the same logic. Continuing its efforts to link past and present, Citroën also plans to renovate one of the Brand’s historic and particularly prestigious sites.

CITROËN, A BRAND WITH A PRESTIGIOUS HISTORY: AN INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURAL COMPETITION

Located on the world’s biggest and most famous avenue at 42, avenue des Champs-Elysées, the site currently occupied by “Citroën Hippo” is to be fully converted and renovated.

To this end, the Brand is to organise an international architectural competition, reflecting the importance it attaches to this renovation project.

42 Champs Elysees, 1932, Expo Rosalie

Opened by Citroën in 1928, these premises extend over an area of over 1,200 m2, and constitute a historic showcase for the Brand. From the day it opened, the Champs-Elysées showroom has been the setting preferred by Citroën for displaying its most recent and prestigious vehicles (the B14, C4, C6 and their many successors), and for promoting its activities (exhibitions, expeditions) and innovations in the field of service.

Rich in memories of times past, this building will serve in the future as a showcase for the products of today, yesterday and tomorrow. It will also be a forum of prestige through which Citroën will turn the spotlight on its creative talent, renewal and enthusiasm.

REEMPHASISING THE BRAND’S HERITAGE

The architectural approach adopted by Citroën for the Champs-Elysées building reflects the Brand’s determination to reconstitute and give greater prominence to its heritage, by acquiring premises of symbolic importance that were formerly owned by Citroën, or by renovating historic sites.

Among the richest and most interesting sites is the Citroën branch in Lyon, located in the rue de Marseille and built in 1930. These premises were used to assemble the C4 and the C6. Classified today as a historical monument, the building reflects the architectural wealth of certain buildings owned by the Brand.

The headquarters of Citroën’s subsidiaries in Belgium and the Netherlands, built at the beginning of the 1930s in Brussels (place de l’Yser) and Amsterdam (Stadionplein), are other examples of buildings that form an integral part of the cultural heritage of Europe’s main cities.

Other premises that are no longer owned by Citroën, such as the building on the rue Marbeuf, the Magasin de l’Europe at Saint-Lazare or the building on Place de l’Opéra (all in Paris) also reflect the Brand’s rich and eventful history.

FOUNDING OF AN ASSOCIATION TO MANAGE CITROËN’S HERITAGE

In order to showcase this rich and eventful history as well as promoting the image of the Brand by drawing upon its heritage, Citroën has decided to set up an association that will be based at 12, rue Fructidor, Paris 17. The main role of this association will be to coordinate Le Conservatoire.

Le Conservatoire currently houses more than 300 vehicles, 1, 400 linear metres of archives, and a host of parts and objects relating to the history of Citroën. New objects arrive at Le Conservatoire on a continuous basis. They include a steady flow of donations. Initiatives of this type have gathered momentum in recent times and Le Conservatoire has put in place stringent and attentive monitoring procedures.

The activity of Le Conservatoire is fundamentally different to that of a museum since it will not be open to the public. However, it will be able to lend vehicles where necessary, and should thus be able provide an effective response to the needs of Citroën’s partners. In this way, vehicles from Le Conservatoire could be displayed as part of events organised in France, Europe and the rest of the world.

THE MOST SIGNIFICANT MODELS

The vehicles housed in Le Conservatoire are, for the most part, definitive versions of the range models produced between 1919 and the present day. The Type A, 2 CV, Traction Avant, DS, SM and many other models are present in a wide variety of versions.

For example, Le Conservatoire has examples of the very first Citroën 5HP models, in the C2 or C3 versions of the time.

The second section is devoted to styling studies, models, concept cars and prototypes. The models, which were designed for wind tunnel tests, cover the period between the two world wars. All areas of Citroën research are represented. The concept cars and prototypes – all of them unique objects – offer a striking resume of the Brand’s creative history.

Last, Le Conservatoire houses the vehicles designed for racing, for major expeditions, for long-distance rallies and for all the other operations that have played a role in building the legend of Citroën. The vehicles on show in this area of Le Conservatoire include the half-tracks used in the first crossing of the Sahara and in the Croisière Jaune, and the ZX Rallye Raids, which won several world championship titles and came first in the Paris-Dakar five times.

New articles are added to Le Conservatoire’s collection on a continuous basis. Some are gifts from Citroën enthusiasts, others reflect efforts to bring together exceptional items, such as the design drafts from Citroën’s styling office.

LE CONSERVATOIRE: HOUSING THE BRAND’S HERITAGE – THE ARCHIVES

A considerable part of Citroën’s heritage is made up of drawings and illustrations, registers, economic data and documentation. All of these are currently being archived. It is thought that this classification work will take some two years.

The archives of Le Conservatoire occupy more than 1, 400 linear metres. They include, primarily, the sketches and plans from the design office. Among them, the original styling drawings signed by Bertoni reflect the rich talent of the Brand with respect to vehicle design and aerodynamics.

Le Conservatoire also holds all the registers of vehicle chassis numbers, indicating the date and the exact type of the vehicles manufactured. Supplying precise information on the volumes of Citroën vehicles produced, these registers have been kept since 1919.

In addition to these registers, Le Conservatoire also holds a considerable quantity of industrial, historic, economic and social data.

Concerning the Citroën network more particularly, Le Conservatoire also possesses a vast amount of commercial documentation. Drafted in French and in many other languages, this documentation covers a range of topics, including pricing and technical details. The collection includes a wide variety of documents, such as reports issued by the governmental vehicle approval department, and servicing and repair manuals for the vehicles in the range.

Last, Le Conservatoire houses a collection of contemporary posters, lithographs, pictures, old films and a host of rare books devoted to André Citroën and the brand that he founded. It also houses a collection of mechanical and industrial parts, as well as corporate furnishings, POS items, display panels, enamelled plates, advertising objects and miniatures.

As a result of all these initiatives, Le Conservatoire is a working tool whose main role is to help the women and men of Citroën to prepare the future of the Brand while drawing upon specific components of its past.

Le Conservatoire is located in Aulnay-sous-Bois, just outside the industrial plant of PSA Peugeot Citroën.

Construction work began in March 2000 and was completed at the end of November 2000.

GROUPING THE COMPONENTS OF THE BRAND’S HERITAGE: A ONE-YEAR TASK

Bringing together the items housed in Le Conservatoire involved a large-scale logistics programme. Operations extended over more than a year but are now virtually complete.

Formerly stored on several sites, the vehicles were transferred to Aulnay between June 2000 and September 2001. The main storage facilities were in Paris, rue Vasco de Gama, at the Ferté Vidame test centre and at the Styling Centre in Vélizy.

A TOTAL AREA OF 6,500 M2

The area is broken down as follows:
Storage area
- Vehicles 5,000 m2
- Paper archives 500 m2
Working area
- Vehicle maintenance 1,000 m2

MAIN DEPARTMENTS MAKING UP THE COLLECTION

Comprising more than 300 vehicles, the collection is made up of four main departments:
- The model range from 1919 to the present day,
- Styling studies, exceptional Citroëns and concept cars,
- Rally raids and racing department,
- Archives room and collectors’ objects.