Italians pay tribute to Citroen H-Van

An Italian design company is paying tribute to the iconic Citroën H-Van with a special edition styling kit that turns the company’s latest Relay model into a replica of the 70-year old classic.

ili is selling the vans complete for around £36,500, and will initially build just 70 of them in left and right-hand-drive.

However, the company has confirmed that it will also be producing further variants starting later this year, including a rugged 4×4, a camper, a recovery truck and a specially-adapted food truck – which many original H-Vans have since become.

The replica’s designers, David Obendorfer and Fabrizio Caselani, created the styling kit to coincide with the H-Van’s 70th anniversary, which was celebrated last month at the CV Show in Birmingham. The pair plan to expand their business into retrofitting vans with the kits from 2018 onwards, while the following year, the kit will be made available to order on its own.

The kit will fit the post-2006 Citroën Relay, as well as its partner vehicles the Fiat Ducato and Peugeot Boxer. The designers say the kit may also be sold in the USA, where it can be fitted to the Ducato-based Ram Promaster.

Obendorfer said, “With the design we did not intend to copy the forms of the original model, but rather we aimed to capture the soul of the iconic vehicle, reinterpreting it through a nostalgic fibreglass ‘suit’ which at the same time is deeply rooted in contemporary style.”

“The Type H 70th Anniversary Van is a fusion of direct references to the predecessor with modern solutions, combined with the reliability and the technological content of the current Citroën Relay series.”