1959 Citroen Squal Prototype

The story of the Squal Design study was the creation of a French engineer named Guy Mismaque who was inspired to create an attractive and economical automobile that could compete with other small-engined, popular automobiles such as the Citroen 2CV. The low-slung and aerodynamic sports car had styling inspired by the Alfa Romeo Berlina Aerodinamica Tecnica (B.A.T.) concept vehicles, designed by Franco Scaglione and built in collaboration with Alfa Romeo and the Italian designer Bertone. Three examples were built, with the first being the BAT 5 created in 1953, followed by the BAT 7 in 1954, and finally the BAT 9 in 1955.

The Mismaque show car, known as the Citroen Squal (Squal meaning 'Shark' in French) Prototype and 'The French BAT,' was created over a three-year period and based on the Citroen 2CV drivetrain. It had a tubular chassis and was clothed with fiberglass coachwork. It is believed that nine chassis were built with around three wearing coachwork.

The Citroen Squall Prototype made its debut in 1960 at the Paris Motor Show wearing the same Orange paint scheme as the 1959 DS.

by Daniel Vaughan | Aug 2022