The vanlife thing has lost some steam lately, going from a full on fad at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to a passing trend. That’s too bad for Citroën, as it just debuted the best camper van from a major automaker by far, called the Citroën Type Holidays. It’s only a concept for now, but Citroën says the van is a preview of an upcoming range of campers to be unveiled by the end of 2023.
It seems no one’s bothered to tell Citroën that campers are no longer the hottest ticket in town, but that’s OK. Citroën is proud that it’s reportedly the second-best selling maker of motorhomes (ahem, RVs) in Europe. But that’s all well and good, especially if the French carmaker commits to making quirky little campers like the Type Holidays, which is an homage to Europe’s favorite panel van of the late 1940s, the Citroën H Van.
The Type Holidays is really just a Citroën SpaceTourer MPV dressed up like an old HY. The concept seems to be powered by one of the SpaceTourer’s diesel engines rather than by the electric motor of the latest Ë-Spacetourer. Italian coachbuilder Caselani helped Citroën turn the SpaceTourer into a tiny version of the H Van. It stands at 1.9 meters tall, or just over 6 feet, meaning that parking garages and drive-throughs are still safe to navigate in the camper.
Despite its small size, the Type Holidays will house up to four adults and it provides two separate sleeping areas, installed by Bravia Mobil. One of the beds doubles as the rear bench seat, while the other is in the pop-up roof that’s fitted in place of the standard roof; Citroën says it’s possible to stand fully upright in the cabin thanks to the modifications.
That ought to be handy when cooking in the kitchenette, which includes a sink, fridge and stove. Two sliding doors provide ventilation when the weather is favorable, and a Webasto heater keeps the cabin toasty in the cold. There are plenty of cupboards for storage, and a folding table for eating or working. The two front seats swivel around to make use of the table, along with the rest of the rear cabin space in the camper van. There’s a 25-liter freshwater tank that connects to a shower-head, as well as a removable toilet.
The Type Holidays is a followup to a pre-pandemic camper meant to revive the H Van, but, like any concept that’s too good to be true, the Citroën WildCamp never culminated in a production model. The 2018 WildCamp also debuted at the Düsseldorf Caravan Salon, much like this new concept. Let’s hope Citroën can make the design stick this time and brings some personality to the vanlife, which is getting a little stale by now.
Photo: Citroën
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