Visa 1979 Visa 1979

Introduction July 1978

At the Paris Salon in July 1978 the Visa was reveiled as successor to the Ami8. The floorpan of the Peugeot 104 was used to provide the technical base. The 5-doors Visa offered a practical interior with accomodation for 4 passengers and a large boot for a small car. The suspension was like that of a bigger car, independent on 4 wheels, smoother than the Peugeot 104. At first there were two engines: the 652cc air-cooled 2-cylinder (Special and Club) and the 1.1 4-in-line (Super) of Peugeot. Later, the sportive Super X was launched with an enlarged engine (1.2), with improved power.

Visa dashboard 1979 The Visa was a very easy to handle city car and fitted in almost every spot available in the crowded city streets. The car was economical and yet pithy, was compact but spacious inside, was light but certainly not like a supermarkt trolley. The Visa was fitted with the typical Citroen satellite dashboard, as in other Citroëns in that time (CX, GSA, BX, Axel). It was not so conveniently arranged at first sight, but when used to it, it was more easy to handle than many of its rivals. The first generation Visa's had a strange 'piggy' nose, that wasn't very popular among the buyers. Also the strange colours (rust-red, apple-green, yellow) didn't help the Visa to become an immediate success. It wasn't until 1981 that the sales of the Visa really boosted.


Prototype Visa HeuliezVisa II: restyling in 1981

The Visa was not the success Citroen had hoped for, mainly due to the strange front and rear. Citroen desides to call upon the help of France Design, the design section of carrossier Heuliez.
By redesigning front and rear bumpers and grille, by tactically adding black paint around the windows to enlarge them optically and by adding more streamlined side over-riding strips, the Visa gets a more agile character. Almost immediately after the introduction in March 1981, the sales boost and the Visa will remain a top selling car until the end.

Visa decapotable by Heuliez The restyling was not the only good thing Heuliez did to the Visa: Heuliez also designed ànd manufactured the Visa Decouvrable. Starting-point was a normal Visa Super E (1.1) that was totally dismantled in the facilities of Heuliez and built up as Decouvrable again. An extra reinforcement was made in the roof between the B-pillars and at the boot. The rear doors and boot are redesigned. The roof can be used in 4 ways: totally closed, open, half open (Mylord), or without rear windscreen.


Visa 1985 Visa dashboard 1985

1985: a new dashboard, a better Visa

Like the restyling on the BX, with the restyling of the Visa in 1985 the square, satellited dashboard disappeared and a more civil one was fitted with common levers. The building quality of this third generation was far better: less electrical problems, less rust problems, better upholstery, etc.

C15 The commercial variant of the Visa, the C15, was also a big success. Production started in 1985 with the 1.1 petrol and 1.8 diesel engine. Later also the 1.4 petrol was available. Payload is either 600kg or 765kg with a useable volume of 2,66 m3. Until today the C15 is still being produced in Poland. Engines are injected and front train is improved (track is widened) in 1989. The C15 is also been used as platform for a variety of bodies. There has also been a 4/5-person seater version of the C15.

From the start in 1978 till the end in 1988 1,254.390 Visa's were built. Over the years the Visa has also been used as the testbed for various electric-powered vehicles