By Classic Yorkshire contributor Tony Lofthouse
The iconic Citroen Type H van with its distinctive corrugated body is back nearly 80 years on from its launch.
This ‘sun-soaked’ workhorse of European roads was made between 1947 and 1981 and has, in recent years, become a ‘hip’ coffee and street food outlet at festivals and events around the UK.
The post-war version came with innovative front-wheel-drive layout – a first in 1947 – and a useful low floor for easy loading.
Now, thanks to a partnership between Citroen retro specialists, the 2CV Shop and the Italian company, Caselani the Type H is making a comeback in EV and diesel forms.
The new-look van retains much of the classic features of the original from its side opening panels to its corrugated body and is based on the existing Citroen Relay platform.
It’s made from fibre glass and comes with modern additions including HD touchscreen, climate control, Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and cruise control.
It comes with a payload of up to 1,385kg and is available in four sizes.
As with many Citroens in those early decades (think 2CV, Ami, Dyane and DS) it was a big seller with 473,000 H-Types sold over 34 years.
Interesting, early models used the last four letters of the alphabet to differentiate the van models from HW to HZ and representing different payloads. The HY was the most common and was primarily fitted with 1.6 and 1.9 litre petrol engines.
Fast forward to 2026 and a Type H EV starts at £53,000 for a cab version and £63,495 for the panel van. A diesel-powered version starts at £41,995.
If you would prefer an original ‘H’ van, a nice restored version can be picked up from around £20,000.