Top five French cars of all time
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As you might have noticed from our extensive coverage, the Paris Motor Show is currently underway, with a whole manner of new French models making debuts at their home exhibition.
With that in mind, we've decided to list our favourite French cars that you won't be seeing at this week's motor show - the models that have already earned legendary status.
To save us harping on about Gaelic charm for too long though, we've limited ourselves to just five.
Citroen 2CV
The snail-shaped 2CV might not be most loved vehicle in the world, but it has a devoted fan club and is worth remembering for its ingenious design and low price alone. Production started in 1948, and continued largely unchanged until 1990 – testament to how successful the design was.
Renault Avantime
The Avantime and its four-door sibling – the Vel Satis – might have been considered commercial flops, but we have a feeling that the former is set to become a design classic. With striking, futuristic looks that even earned it an appearance in the distopian film Children of Men, the Avantime deserves to be remembered.
Citroen C6
The C6 may not have found many homes in the UK – with just 900 examples of £40,000 saloon sold over 6 years – but the French government absolutely adored the big Citroen. With electrically reclining rear seats and ultra-smooth 'hydractive' suspension it's easy to see why, too – making the C6 hard to beat for luxury.
Peugeot 205 GTi
The hottest version of the new 208 might be whetting appetites on the stands of Paris, but it wouldn't have a legendary reputation to live up to were it not for the 205 GTi. Still famed for its peppy engine range and almost unbeatable ride and handling, fond memories of this hot hatch won't be fading soon.
Citroen DS
It's hard to talk about legendary French cars without bringing up the DS. At its debut at the Paris Motor Show of '55, 743 orders were taken within 15 minutes, and 12,000 by the end of the first day. It's also responsible for bringing to market many innovations we take for granted today – self-levelling suspension included, and directional headlamps on later DSs. If France was represented by one car alone, the DS would be it.
Have you got any recommendations? Let us know what would be in your list by posting your comments below.
