Do you remember the Berlingo that Citroen turned into a beach car?
A Berlingo, but make it summer
Some concept cars promise the future. This one just promised a very good summer. At the 1996 Paris Salon, Citroen showed three concept versions of its brand-new Berlingo, and the happiest of them was the Coupe de Plage: a cheerful two-seat beach car, built by Bertone, that almost nobody remembers today. We think it deserves a moment back in the sun.
Where the Berlingo was designed to be sensible and practical, the Coupe de Plage was designed purely for fun. It was aimed at younger buyers who spent their weekends at the coast, and every detail was built around one idea: getting to the beach and enjoying it.
The details that made it wonderful
This is where the Coupe de Plage becomes a joy. In place of a normal boot, it had an open pickup bed, and the rear window could be electrically lowered to open it up. Fold out a pair of integrated reclining beach chairs, mounted on reinforced pillars, and the back of the car turned into a pair of sun loungers. There were folding shelves for your cooler, a removable roof rack for a surfboard, and external loudspeakers so the car's radio could play soft music out across the sand. Even the speedometers were in on the theme, decorated with ocean waves and blue needles.
Under all the fun sat something real. The Coupe de Plage used the 1.8-litre engine from the Citroen Xantia, good for 103 hp and a top speed of around 165 km/h, so it could actually get you to the coast rather than just pose once you arrived.
The spiritual heir to the Mehari
Citroen has always understood the fun, functional leisure car better than most, and the Coupe de Plage sat squarely in that tradition. It was styled to evoke the rugged ZX Rallye Raid, it borrowed the carefree spirit of the legendary Citroen Mehari, and it drew on the popularity of leisure pickups in North America. The idea even hinted that a production Berlingo pickup might follow. The concept itself never reached production, but the standard Berlingo went on to become one of Europe's great leisure-activity vehicles, so the thinking behind it was sound.
Why it still matters
Thirty years on, the Coupe de Plage feels more relevant than ever. Boxy, practical vehicles are cool again, brands are mining their heritage for characterful models, from the reborn Renault 4 and 5 to a wave of retro-flavoured EVs, and there is a real appetite for cars built purely to make you smile, the same instinct that keeps affordable fun cars alive. A cheap, cheerful, roofless leisure Citroen would fit that mood perfectly today.
AutoNext Take
The Coupe de Plage is exactly the kind of car the industry needs to remember it can build. It was not fast, it was not clever, and it was never going to change the world. It was just honest, joyful and completely committed to a single, simple pleasure. That is rarer, and harder, than it looks.
Citroen was bold enough to imagine turning its most sensible new model into a beach toy, and then bold enough to show it in public. We would love to see that spirit come back, ideally as a small, affordable electric leisure car with the same grin built in. Until then, raise a drink to the little Berlingo that wanted nothing more than to take you to the sea.
