Only One!! Hachette 1:43 1955 Citroen U55: Cityrama Currus Tour Bus

This model is sold in a blister pack

In Paris, in 1956, the Cityrama company was founded by Jean Pierre Dubreuil who had the idea of ​​transporting tourists in coaches in order to show them the main monuments in a minimum of time. But in a bus, seeing the urban landscape through a simple window is not very commercial, the genius idea is then to design a fully glazed bus, offering a panoramic view to the passengers. The Cityrama company thus put itself in contact with the oldest coachbuilder in Paris, Currus, and charged it with making such a bus.

At Currus, it is Albert Lemaître, technical director of the Parisian coachbuilder who is in charge of the project, which gives birth to a bus with an appearance never before seen, in the futuristic trend of the moment, and above all, equipped with a large glazed surface to let passengers admire the Parisian architecture, and even a panoramic roof that can be removed in summer. Inside, 50 passengers can sit in comfortable armchairs and offer audiophiones commenting on the visit in seven different languages.

At least three examples of the Currus bus were made on Citroën U55 chassis, which criss-crossed the avenues of the capital for years, always arousing a certain amount of interest during their visits. These buses have marked Parisians but also film directors, some of whom will make it appear in their works. The Cityrama company started its activity perfectly, it was going to continue well after the Citroën U55 Currus with Saviem buses, always dressed by Currus... But that's another story...