No you aren’t seeing things – it really does say ‘1981’ on the front of this Citroen Type H van. Admittedly this is the last ever one to roll off the production line, but it’s still incredible to think that this vehicle made it into the 1980s.
The Type H (or H Van/H Type/HY) first went into production in 1947, meaning it’s celebrating its 60th year. The first examples used Citroen Traction Avant running gear, later to be replaced by Citroen DS mechanicals. And there’s no prizes for guessing that those headlights were also found on the 2CV.
Over its 34-year run the Type H was built in France and Belgium, and found close to 500,000 buyers. As well as being particularly popular on the home market, it was also a huge seller in the Netherlands.
This example was pictured at the 'Conservatoire' – an amazing museum of automotive oddities at Citroen’s Aulnay factory in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris.