This weeks French themed blog returns to Chipping Sodbury for a look at some of the cars from our the land of our closest neighbours.

Donnet is not a manufacturer I recall coming accross before by 1927 the company was based in Paris and this is a 1927 G2 Torpedo Lux model that on the evidence of the tax discs on display was imported new into the UK.

The occupants of this 1953 750 cc / 41.5 cui “La Motte de beurre” Renault 4cv got right into the spirit of their cars cultural heritage and dressed in stripey Bretton shirts and bore strings of garlic.

Launched in 1967 to replace the Citroën 2CV which dated back to 1948, the production of nearly one and a half million Citroën Dyanes came to a stop in 1983, while production of the 2CV carried on until 1990. The Dyane 6 seen here was built in 1979.

The Citroën CX was launched in 1974 and the following year it was voted European Car of the Year. This is a range topping Gti Turbo model built in 1985, six years before production of nearly 1.2 million CXs came to a halt.

Described by one esteemed journalist as “ruthlessly practical”, for me an ex multiple Citroën 2CV6 owner, they never fail bring a smile to my face when ever I them. Back in the day whenever I was on holiday in France I made a point of spending at least one afternoon in a scrap yard looking for 1960’s 2CV aluminium grills of the type seen on this 1987 example, if I could find enough of them in an afternoon the profit would usually cover my petrol costs for the whole journey.

Voted third in the 1999 Classic & Sports Car ‘Car of the Century’ pole the Citroën DS went into production in 1955 and came to an end 1.5 million units later in 1975.

Thanks for joining me on this “Exécuter Classique” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at some of the British cars on the Chipping Sodbury Classic Run. Don’t forget to come back now !