Home Citroënët home

Site search powered by FreeFind
Do NOT include 'Citroen' in your search terms


M35 Wankel engined coupé

How the Wankel rotary engine works





Project F would have been equipped with a Wankel rotary engine and as part of the test régime for that engine, a couple of hundred hydropneumatically suspended coupes were built for testing by a selected number of high mileage motorists. The M35 was also a test bed for the hydraulics employed in Projet F and later in Project G. Unlike many prototypes, the M35 was available for all and sundry to view. The Wankel engine was used in twin rotor form, in the Birotor and was intended, in trirotor form, to power the CX.
The body was constructed by Heuliez and apart from the front wings, shared no components with the Ami 8 which it resembled.
The M35 was powered by a 49 bhp engine with a displacement of 497,5 cm3 (equivalent to 995 cm3) and was a 6CV under French tax rules. It had a top speed of 144 kph and was sold for FF14,000 - almost the price of an ID19 and more than double that of a 2CV.

It was intended to build 500 M 35s but only 267 were ever constructed. 

What a pity that the remaining 233 bodyshells were not used as the basis for a limited run of Ami Super coupés.

The sticker on the rear screen states "This Citroën M35 prototype fitted with a rotary piston engine is undergoing long term testing at the hands of a Citroën customer".

Each one of the 267 cars was individually numbered on the front wings.

© Klaus Nahr
© Klaus Nahr

© 1996 Citroënët/Julian Marsh/SA Automobiles Citroën except for picture of front wing and colour picture immediately above the large picture of the engine above © Klaus Nahr