Visa Ville

It looks like I am not the only one who takes pictures of the Visa family.
The photos below were kindly submitted by other enthusiasts, or were found by me in photo archives.
(click at the images for a larger picture).

	The Dutch army bought a batch of Visas II Super L. The small nimble, albeit somewhat underpowered cars were not very popular with the Dutch soldiers, and a lot suffered under brutal maltreatment (photos Hennie Keeris/© Netherlands Institute for Military History).
	More Visas with the Dutch army (above and below). A written off Visa II L is sacrificed during the testing of explosives in Meppen, Germany, November 1988. I know that these pictures are likely to shock everyone infected with the Visa virus. But remember, we are talking 1988... (photos B. Spijker/ AVDKL, © Netherlands Institute for Military History).

	Most Visas of the Dutch army were not used for testing explosives, but were actually driven. Around 1990, most examples were disbanded. The pictures on the left date from the late eighties (photos W. Dijkema/© Netherlands Institute for Military History).
The photo on the right shows the site of the Dutch Domeinen, where written off official vehicles are kept before being sold or being scrapped. There are three Visas, probably all former army cars, visible in this picture (photo © Netherlands Institute for Military History).
Of course this is not a military Visa, but the then owner appears to work for the Dutch Army. The car is a Visa Chrono, and the photo was shot at the territory of barracks in Roermond (Limburg, The Netherlands) in December 1991 (photo AVDKL/© Netherlands Institute for Military History).
Another Visa at a Dutch military site. This 1983 Super E was photographed in October 1987 near the Frederik barracks in The Hague (photo AVDKL/© Netherlands Institute for Military History).
A 1986 Visa 11 RE speeding past the headquarters of the Dutch Royal Air Force in The Hague in the late eighties (photo H.J. Jonker, © Netherlands Institute for Military History).
Another 1986 Visa 11 RE, parked behind a BX at the Frederik barracks in The Hague, 1995 (photo Glenn Siegers (AVDKL), © Netherlands Institute for Military History).
		The C15 was used by the EC Monitor Mission in Yugoslavia during the civil war in that country. These pictures were taken in December, 1991 (photos AVDKM/© Netherlands Institute for Military History).
Visa L of the Dutch Army at the inner yard of the Oranje Nassau Kazerne in Amsterdam in the eighties (photo W. Rijst, © Netherlands Institute for Military History).
			From left to right: Visas on the canals in Amsterdam in 1988, a 11 RE waiting for a hearse in 1990, a first series club at the borderline in Glanerbrug, the Netherlands, and a Visa II Super E in The Hague in the eighties (photos © Netherlands Institute for Military History).
	More Visas at the Frederik and Alexander barracks in the Hague, teken from the archives of the Audiovisual Service RNLA. Far left is a Visa II L or 11 E, photographed in 1985, left is a series 1 Club, also in 1985 (photos © Netherlands Institute for Military History).
			Visas at the central court of the Hojelkazerne in Utrecht, 1984. The car on the photo far right is a private example of the first series (photos © Netherlands Institute for Military History).
Detail of Visa 11 RE in The Hague, early nineties (photo © Netherlands Institute for Military History).

	Diego Westerveld from The Netherlands spotted this Visa 11 RE Décapotable during his holiday in the Spanish village Pont de Molins in the summer of 2001. Any volunteers for rescuing it? (photos © Diego Westerveld).
	Martijn van Well mailed me the above pictures of uncommon versions of the C15. Left is a tipper, right is a six wheeled lwb version. Both cars were photographed in France, where the C15 still is very popular in numerous versions (photos © Martijn van Well).
	More pictures by Martijn van Well: above left is a strikingly striped Visa, photographed during a meeting of the Citroën Club Rijnmond in 1987. Right is a brown Visa Décapotable, snapped in 1987 during the Citroën Sterrit in Amersfoort, The Netherlands. Behind the wheel is Wouter Jansen, editor of the Dutch Citroën magazine Citroexpert. Below left is the Visa 11 RE Décapotable, currently owned by Dutch Visa club officials Patrick Gerrits and Johan Verlinden. In the picture, taken in the mid eighties, the car is equipped with rather odd black alloys. Below right is a Visa GTi, featuring those gorgeous Toulouse alloys, usually seen on the Saxo VTS. the picture was taken in Utrecht during Citromobile in May 2001 (photos © Martijn van Well).

	What you can do with a C15 or a Visa and a chain saw! The combination left, photographed during a meeting of the Citroën Club Rijnmond at Rotterdam Airport in 1992, is composed of a C15 and a trailer, made of two other C15s. The Siamese Visa right is another example of creative car surgery (photos © Martijn van Well). The pictures above are only a small outtake of the cars you can see at Martijn's Citroënpage.
	Some more pictures by Martijn van Well. Above left is a Visa GTi 115ch on a trailer, towed by nothing less special than a XM Plateau Tissier. The picture on the right shows a Visa Trophée. Both photographs were taken during the EuroCitro manifestation in Le Mans in 2000. Below are two pictures of the Dutch Citromobile fair in Utrecht, held in May 2002. Left you see the limited edition Visa 14S. Martijn told me he had seen the car a few times in Rotterdam, but when he returned to the site, the car was gone. For some time we feared it had been scrapped, but after half a year it appeared at Citromobile. The car on the right is...errr...well, it is my very own GT, of course. Nice picture, Martijn! (photos © Martijn van Well)

	The British C15 Romahome you see above far left was photographed by Martijn during the Waggelmeeting in May, 2002. The C14 RE was snapped during the harbour meeting of the Citroën Club Rijnmond in October, 2002 The photos below are also Martijn's. The 1985 Visa Spirit GT 330 was snapped around 1986. The 1989 Visa right is a quite decent example which was up for sale in a garage in Vlaardingen (near Rotterdam) in February 2003 (photos © Martijn van Well).

		Martijn never gets tired of taking more pictures of more Citroëns. From top left: C15 six wheeler, Visa 17 D transformed into a police car by Theo de Wit, (pictured in 1989 at the 2CV world meeting in Orléans), line up of Chronos, a very sound 1984 Visa 11 RE (spotted in Vlaardingen in March 2003), various sporting Visas (including Visa Lotus) , a 11 RE Décapotable, a Visa 4x4, a C15 Romahome underway near Utrecht , and 1981 first series Visa Club in Gemert, the last two both pictured in April 2003 (photos © Martijn van Well).


		From left to right: Visa Décapotable attending Citromobile 2003, C15 road-sweeper's vehicle during the same event, and a C15 "GTi", spotted during the 2003 Schermertreffen in the Netherlands. It has not only been modified cosmetically, but has indeed the 1.6 GTI engine. With 180 km p/h, it must be one of the fastest C15s in existence (photos © Martijn van Well).
	Martijn keeps on snapping Visas. The Visa series one on the left attended the yearly meeting of the Citroën Club Rijnmond in St. Mihiel in France in July, 2003. Martijn said it had no floor and rotten sills, and some panels were taped to the body. For € 300,00 it could be yours. The Visa GT on the right was in better condition and was found behind a Citroën garage in La Fleurie (photos © Martijn van Well).
		More photos by Martijn. The Décapotable and the Romahome Hy-Top were pictured during the 2CV Van meeting in Amerongen/Leersum in September 2003. The purple Visa Club was een in Tilburg in October 2003 (photos © Martijn van Well).
			And more by Martijn. From top left: Visa 11 RE in Rotterdam, december 2003; Visa 11 RE in Spijkenisse, January 2004; 11 RE Décapotable in Ridderkerk, December 2003. Visa in Martini colours in Gouderak, January 2004; cool C15 in Utrecht, November 2003; another frigo, January 2004; C15 in snow, January 2004; C 15 camper attending 2CV Worldmeeting in Maurik, 1997; British limited edition Visa Versailles in London during the nineties; interesting Citroën scrap, containing a.o. some Visas and a LNA, Ridderkerk, December 2003; early C15 from Belgium in olive green, April 2004; 1986 Visa 11 RE in Rotterdam, April 2004 (photos © Martijn van Well).


			In December 2004, Martijn sent me some more additions: a very orange C15, a 1988 Visa 11 RE in Rotterdam, a 11 RE Décapotable in brun vison and a very smart Visa, spotted in the region of Lille (photos © Martijn van Well).
An interesting Pak-Horse version of the C15, photographed by Martijn in Rotterdam in March, 2005.
Teunis Hutten, owner of a C15 Romahome camper, is a keen member of the Dutch Visa Club, and sent me this picture of the Visa Club at the Citromobile meeting in Utrecht, May 2001 (photo © Teunis Hutten).
			Teunis Hutten also sent me these pictures of the castle tour, held by the club at October 14, 2001. Not only Duch Visas and C15s took part: there were some German cars as well. Left in the picture below right is Teunis' own Romahome (photos © Teunis Hutten).
		The photo left was mailed to me by Ian Dalziel from England. It shows a Visa rally at the Brooklands racetrack, some years ago. The red Visa II Super E, second from left, is Ian's car (photo © Ian Dalziel).
A first series Visa Club, photographed by Thomas Egli in a car park in the French speaking part of Switzerland. Photos of Thomas' own Visas can be seen below, in the visitors' gallery (photo © Thomas Egli).
	The four photos on the left were mailed to me by Freek Vermeeren from The Netherlands. They all show fast Visas. The cars at the top and above left are Chronos, the car above right is a GTi. Most pictures seem to have been taken some years ago, I wonder if all examples survive. Freek's own Chrono is in the visitors' gallery (photos © Freek Vermeeren).

			Top left: Some of the cars present at a scrapyard in Helmond, The Netherlands, photographed by Thijs van der Zanden in February, 2002. The Visa 11 RE at the left was still in fair condition, but even good Visas get scrapped today, due to little public demand. At least, this Visa provided a seat belt for our own blue two cylinder (thanks again, Thijs). Top centre is a C15, who served its last days for a theatre company. A few weeks later, Thijs, who owns a BX and an Axel himself, found a pretty good Décapotable at the same yard. In September, 2002, Thijs found some newly brought in Visas in "his" Helmond" scapyard, one of them being a silver 11 RE of 1984 (new dashboard) with some good panels. Anyone wondering where the right wing and the bonnet went: my GT GerriT can tell... Second row centre: another Visa 11 RE, which turned up in the Helmond scrap yard in September, 2002. Quite contrasting is the shiny new C15 (second row right) Thijs photographed at the Paris Motor Show that same month. Thijs van der Zanden went to see a series 1 Club for sale (third row left and centre) in Belgium in the summer of 2003. The car was in need of work, but maybe someone has the courage to start the project?The next three photos were taken by Thijs during his summer holiday in France in 2002, and show a Visa in St. Riquier (right), a Visa Super X in Vannes (below left), and a Visa GT in the same region (below right). The last six photos were taken by Thijs during his holiday in France in the summer of 2003. Below right is a very rare and interesting Visa Sextant (photos © Thijs van der Zanden).

			Jérôme Warin from France sent me, besides lots of other useful information and pictures, the three photos on the top row on the left. The Visa Super E far left is one of a series of 100 cars that were bought in 1982 for the Police Nationale. The Visa illustrated carries a registration from the Paris area. Jérôme thinks that the Visa police cars probably were not used anywhere else in France. The car in the middle is one from a smaller series of C15 E police cars. The Visa 11 E on the right is a police car from an unknown region in France (photographers unknown).The photos on the second and third row were taken by Jérôme Warin himself. Second row left is a C15, shown during the Paris Motor Show in September, 2002. In the centre and on the right is a C15, pictured during the Brussels commercial motorshow in January, 2003. The two C15s on the third row, photographed in September, 2002, are both long versions. The one on the left and in the middle is owned by the charity organisation Les Restos du Coeur and was spotted in Rheims. The one on the right belongs to the city of Rennes. The Visa 17 D Leader far below left and centreis a British example, seen in Brittany, France, in September, 2002. The Visa II Club of 1981, seen far below right, was photographed by Jérôme in the region where he lives in January, 2003 (photos © Jérôme Warin).

Leigh Miles from Australia sent me these photos of some Visas he has known. The car on the right is a first series Club with special two tone paintwork (was it ever factory delivered this way?). Leigh had the car on loan from a friend on a holiday in the UK. The Visa Club in the centre hes been owned from new by Australian rally driver Jim Rediex. The car was given to him by Citroën as a present, grateful as they were for the good work Jim had done for the marque. The Visa on the right is a Super X, also driving in Australia. Actually, these Visas are two of only five known in Australia. The other three are owned by Leigh himself and can be found in the owners' gallery (photos © Leigh Miles).

A Visa Spécial seen in Italy by Sebastian Forss from Sweden. Sebastian, although quite young of age and therefore not even in the possession of a driving licence, nevertheless owns a very special Visa himself. See the owner's gallery (photo © Sebastian Forss).

A very wild Visa from France. More cars like these can be found on The Jacky Touch (photo © Bruno).

Even in the USA, Visas can be spotted. This Super E was present at the 12th International Citroën Car Club Rally (ICCR) from August 9-11, 2002 in Amherst, Massachusetts, USA (photo © Blair Anderson).

		The pictures top left and right I found in a series of slides used for traffic lessons. They both show early Visa Supers in the early eighties. The yellow colour of the one on the right is quite typical for the first series Visa. The photos in the middle row were taken from collections of slides by unknown amateurs. Left is a French Visa Super photographed in an unknown location somewhere in the eighties, right is a Dutch Visa of the first series, towing a folding caravan near Val de Maggia (Italy) around 1980. Below left is a first series Visa on a motorway in Spain (photographers unknown/collection Okke Groot).

The photos left and right were taken in Tulle (France) by Henri Geurts, somewhere around 1988, and show a Visa 11 E, serving as a first aid vehicle for the local hospital (photos © Henri Geurts).

During his summer holiday in France, Paul Jansen saw this brand new C15 (left) and a rarely seen two door Visa Entreprise (right) (photos © Paul Jansen).


	These pictures were sent to me by John Gliniadakis from Athens, Greece. John took the blue Visa Club, owned by his mother since he bought it for her in 1995, on a trip through his home city in the fallof 2002, and took pictures of some of the Visas he saw en route. John wrote me that there are still plenty of Visas in Greece, but many are in poor condition. Clockwise from top left: the Club of John's mother and a silver Visa II Club in less beautiful condition; the Gliniadakis car and a 1985 Visa 10 E in rouge délage in good condition; first series Visa in blue, still a daily runner; abandoned Visa Club; metallic grey Visa of 1985 with later dash; good looking red Visa of first type; white first series Visa. The GS Pallas behind it was a good looker until 2002 (photos © John Gliniadakis).


	More pictures from Athens, sent by John Gliniadakis in April 2003. Clockwise from top left: copper coloured Visa Club covered by rarely seen snow in Athens in March 2003; group of three Visas, all owned by one person, who succeeds to keep them all running; Visa Club, owned by a neighbour of John's Visa driving mother; C15 is one of a large fleet of similar cars of the Greek telecom company OTE; Visa with AX/ZX wheel covers; seven abandoned Visas, many of them early examples; brown Visa II Club with tinted windows; everyday runner Visa Club; Visa II Special, driven by young women. Athens must be a Visa lover's paradise... (photos © John Gliniadakis).

Hrvoje Mrkovic from Croatia sent me a picture of a Citroën Visa Super X he developed for the well known PC game 'Need for speed'. Virtual as it may be, it looks great... (image © Hrvoje Mrkovic).

A Visa GTof 1984, offered for sale in Croatia in May, 2003. GTs were never officially imported in Yougoslavia, so this must be one of few, or perhaps even unique in the country (photos © Hrvoje Mrkovic).

		Some pictures sent to me by Knut Rothstein, owner of a splendid Visa Club (see the pictures in the owners' gallery), and living in the region of Darmstadt, Germany. Clockwise from top left: British Visa 10 E, appearing to be abandoned in Calais; German C15, Visa Club and Visa (photos © Knut Rothstein).

Mike Harker from England sent me a picture of the only known C15 Six Chausson Leotard, converted to RHD. It was imported in 1995 and is owned by a Citroën dealer in the North of England (photo © Mike Harker).

		Pictures of a C15 and an abandoned Visa Décapotable, taken in Spain in January 2004 by Visa owner Andréu Saurina (photos © Andréu Saurina).

A Visa 11 RE with a slightly taller wheel size than usual, spotted somewhere on the web by Peter van Emden

Jean-Baptiste Beaussart sent me some interesting pictures of French Visas. The car on the left is a Décapotable, snapped in Le Havre, in the middel is a Visa Entreprise, spotted in Cauville, and on the right you see a Visa which has seen better times, but which still wears an interesting original sticker "1982, Citroën, l'année champion" (photos © Jean-Baptiste Beaussart).

Visa GTI-owner Mike Harker from Britain sent me these pics of the yearly Visa meeting in Nehren, Germany, in July 2004. The red series 1 is in extremely good condition for its age. The brown Décapotable is a well known car, often spotted at various events (photos © Mike Harker).

This sad Visa 14 S was seen at a scrap yard in Eemnes, the Netherlands by Wouter Bregman in September 2004 (photos © Wouter Bregman).

A good example of a Visa GT Challenger with only 40.000 km on the clock, photographed in Marmers, Normandy in December 2004 by Constantijn Jansen op de Haar from Utrecht. Constantijn himself is the proud owner of a quite respectable Visa 14 S(photo © Constantijn Jansen op de Haar).

A rare Visa 17 D Crystal in bleu romantique, spotted in Caen by Jean-Baptiste Beassart (photos © Jean-Baptiste Beassart).

		Some Visas snapped by "professional spotter" Martijn van Well. All cars were seen in the region of St. Mihiel/Verdun in July 2005 (photos © Martijn van Well).

From left: a Dutch (originally Belgian) Visa Super series 1 during the 2 CV World Meeting in Kelso, Scotland, July 2005, and an immaculate British Visa (photos © Martijn van Well).

				More interesting Visas and C15s, spotted in France and Holland by Martijn van Well during the summer and fall of 2005 (photos © Martijn van Well).

		Interesting Spanish versions of Visa and C15, pictured by Maarten van den Eijnde during a holiday in Spain in 2005. Clockwise from top left: C15 Cumbre, Visa 17 RD Stilo, Visa Challenger and C15 of the Spanish mail (photos © Maarten van den Eijnde).

				Some of the Visas and C15s photographed by Martijn van Well in 2006: top row from left: Visa 17 RD, nice Visa 11 RE, German Visa II Spécial and Visa 11 E Leader. Middel row: Visa 11 RE, Visa GT Spirit 330, C15 Pak Horse and shabby Visa 11 RE. Bottom row: Visa 11 RE Décapotable and Visa 11 RE from Serbia-Montenegro. Note the type 1 rearlights (photos © Martijn van Well).

			Some photos of Visas and C15s, sent to me by Sebastian Forss from Sweden. Top left: 1986 Visa 14 RS in Munkfors, Sweden. Top right: C15 in Dublin, 2003. Left: Visa GTi in Ronchamp, France, 2005. Bottom left: C15 in Las Palmas, Spain, 2004. Bottom right: Visa in Almaria, Spain, 2005 (photos © Sebastian Forss).