1983 Citroën C35 “ Peugeot Talbot Sport Assistance”
DeAgostini (pw) - ? (diecast)
Published 08/01/25
Sevel S.p.A. was a joint venture formed by FIAT and the PSA Group (Peugeot + Citroën) in 1978. The purpose of Sevel (“Société Européenne de Véhicules Légers” – European Light Vehicle Company) was to produce light commercial vehicles. Since utility vehicles were not their bread-and-butter, with Sevel the two manufacturers could share development costs. The manufacturer had three factories in France and Italy, where the base vehicle was produced. When the vehicle was ready, the “owner” (PSA or FIAT) would then finish it with their regular trimmings and badges. With time, other European manufacturers joined Sevel, and it operated until 2021, when Stellantis bought it.
One of the first vehicles to come out of the joint venture was the Citroën C35, in 1978. Interestingly, the C35 uses the same platform as FIAT’s 242, commercially released in 1974. In fact, they are the same vehicle, with the same drivetrain, yet with two different manufacturer’s badges. Powering the C35/242 was the M25-629 engine, a 2499 cm³ diesel inline-4, delivering 51 kW (69 hp). Connected to a four-speed manual gearbox, it could achieve 114 km/h. Obviously not a rocket ship, however it produced 150 Nm at only 2000 rpm. And that was very good to haul up to 1000 kg in 5.5 m³ of space. From the beginning, Citroën offered the C35 in many different configurations, and it was a commercial success. Just like its Italian brother, the C35 was a boxy-utilitarian affair; yet, Citroën and FIAT sold, respectively, thousands of them.
In 1980 the C35 went through a face-lift, acquiring a more modern look. Just one year after that, Peugeot founded Peugeot Talbot Sport (PTS), their competition division. Soon after, they released the 205, a small car intended for a younger client. Concurrently, to boost the appeal of the new 205, they started a rally racing program. With the ex-rally driver Jean Todt as director, PTS wanted to create a car for Group B rallying. The radical 205 T16 was ready in 1984, and PTS immediately put it racing. However, PTS not only had to develop a car, they also needed a racing team with all the ancillary necessities, like support vehicles. Naturally, they turned to Citroën and their C35 van. The C35 was perfect as a support van, carrying spare parts and mechanics to wherever the 205 T16 needed repairs.
PSA invested a LOT of money in PTS and their racing program. They had a humongous support team, counting on at least seven C35! Heck, after they established a partnership with Aerospatiale, they even had a support helicopter 😮. Well, looking at it now, I guess it paid off. After all, the 205 was a stupendous success and Peugeot won two WRC manufacturer’s championships and two driver’s championships… Therefore, since the 205 T16 was a grail model for me, I had to have this C35. Right after I got my 205 T16, I went looking for this van. Well, I was originally looking for the Ixo version, however I stumbled upon this pw. A pw from DeAgostini, it was distributed in Argentina (in Europe, too?), and a few found their way here.
Yeah, yeah, I know, it’s a pw, and I always complain about pw, right? Well, mostly that’s true, yet I’m on record even praising a few. And this C35 is certainly one of those exceptions that prove the rule. Firstly, if you compare mine to Ixo’s version, you notice that they are VERY similar. In fact, to me it looks like they share the same mold, though with a few different plastic details. In my opinion the only thing that I see wrong with this one is the dead eye headlights, while Ixo’s has proper headlights. Other than that, both look great, and this one has the bonus of cooler stuff on the rack on top 😎. And secondly, price. This one is dirt cheap, basically one third of the price of the Ixo. So, doing the math: (very?) nice model + dirt cheap = great buy 👍.