Last Citroen Cityrama Tour Bus From The '50s Is Getting A Second Life

Imagine touring Paris inside this greenhouse on wheels.

Citroen Cityrama Tour Bus Headed To Restoration

07:17

Jacob Oliva

By: Jacob Oliva

Jul 17, 2022 at 7:10am ET

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Double-decker buses are an old way of transportation that dates back to the days of horse-drawn carriages. But probably the most peculiar of them two-story people-haulers is relatively young and endemic to France.

Known as the Cityrama, or more appropriately called the Citroen U55 Cityrama Currus this odd-looking greenhouse on wheels gained popularity in the '50s. Paris tour operator Groupe Cityrama commissioned the French coachbuilder Currus to build this bus on a Citroen U55 truck chassis.

With the extensive use of glass, the Cityrama tour bus provided a panoramic view of La Ville Lumièr – riding a spaceship-looking vehicle (with a wild forward-facing pointy thing) that looked like straight out of Jetsons was just a bonus. This move by Groupe Cityrama was a hit until the buses were defunct in the '80s.

Allegedly, the last surviving Citroen Cityrama tour bus has been found by YouTuber The Tim Traveller. He featured the bus back in March and just three months after, he visited a classic car show in France to grace the bus in the metal.

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As expected, the old Cityrama tour bus was in very rough shape. Rust has already eaten away most of its body parts, while a major number of the glass panels have already been destroyed. It was actually almost as if the bus was towed to the classic car show but it wasn't. Surprisingly, those in guardianship of the vehicle were able to drive the withering bus to the venue.

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The supposed last surviving Citroen Cityrama is on its way to restoration, handled by Normandy Classics. A group of classic car enthusiasts called Association Normande d’Anciens Utilitaires (ANAU) will be funding the restoration project, which would probably take four years according to Philippe Debasly of Normandy Classics.

If you're keen to support the project, you can make a monetary donation through Heritage Foundation.

Source: The Tim Traveller (YouTube)

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