Citroen 2CV

What can one say about the wonderful 'Deux Chevaux' that hasn’t already been said? Everyone can recognise these iconic vehicles many of which survive, especially in the French countryside, some 20 years after production ceased and over 60 years since they first appeared on the austere immediate post war scene. With a design brief that included being able to transport a pig to market and a basket of eggs unbroken across a ploughed field, today the car still has some extraordinary virtues. A full 4-seat convertible with the canvas roof rolled back, its wonderful fuel economy and superbly comfortable (if roly-poly) ride make touring on our small, quiet roads a real pleasure.

Nowadays, so many locals turn and smile and engage you in conversation when you stop, to talk about their first car and formative experiences with the 'Deuch'.

Our lovely matt-blue 1961 2CV, with front opening doors, is a totally original car with some patina of age, that has never left the Charente and proudly bears its original registration. Extremely slow by current standards, it is full of character and best suited to very local driving. We have a Citroen Dyane available with the 6CV engine and disc brakes, which is more applicable to taking on quicker roads or further afield.

Don't expect many, if any, concessions to modernity or even, alas, secondary safety in the 2CV (there are no seat belts for example). But if you want to feel yourself transported back into a simpler and slower age, for a short while, the 2CV is the way to do it.