Many great donations, 60th anniversary of Mini and a very special Peugeot 403. Image gallery from RVA66 - Collection of old, exclusive and special vehicles in Perpignan, France.
Not just French cars
Many of the cars in the collection were by no means made in France - but still highly valued. Americans, for example. It is quite common to see Ford Mustangs of various vintages on the roads. I think most of them have French history, ie sold as new in France. I have also seen several Oldsmobile F85s from the early sixties. I guess that model must have had some popularity in its time.
Cars like the Volkswagen Beetle and the Volkswagen Bus are popular collector's cars, here as elsewhere. The Beetles are called Coccinelle (ladybug) – or just Cox. On the occasion of Mini's 60th anniversary these days, the organizers had set aside an extended area for the Minis in attendance. All the cars got their own party hat on the roof. It was impressive to see so many gathered in one place, but the space allocated was actually minimal. Perhaps more Minis came than planned?
Do you remember Matra Bagheera?
French cars are always the center of attention for the audience. Simca, Peugeot, Renault, Citroen from when I was a boy, are popular with spectators at least as old. I don't know, but the Matra Bagheera sports car with three seats must have been a real "lady magnet" in the early 70s, and consequently the dream car for all of us who were young boys back then.
Rare French cars
Recently, several pre-war models have appeared. First and foremost, a great collection of Citroen Traction Avant, which was produced right up until the mid-50s. A stately long-edition Peugeot 402 also appears regularly. We are talking about real, French classics - but cars that few surviving Norwegians had any special relationship with? The Peugeot 403, on the other hand, was a very common car on Norwegian roads. The pontoon bodywork bore little resemblance to contemporary pontoon models from Mercedes-Benz. The Peugeot 403 was popular with taxi owners. Spacious, durable and solid. The Familiale version could be delivered with three rows of seats. At the last gathering in Perpignan, a very special Peugeot 403 appeared. A cabriolet, - you know the car that police lieutenant Columbo drove around in. Or "wheeled" you could say, since the car in the TV series had no engine and otherwise appeared to be particularly drivable. The red cabriolet in Perpignan, on the other hand, looked like new. The 1,5 liter purred like a cat – and moved almost as silently as Columbo's car.
More pictures
Click on an image - or thumbnail - to see it in a larger format.
Facts
The Rassemblement Véhicules anciens du 66 aims to collect cars that are either old, exclusive and/or special cars from the Pyrenees-Orientales (66) region of France. The event is held on the first Sunday of every month all year round. The meeting point is now around the Carré d'Or shopping centre next to the city's largest Carrefour centre. A map description is provided on the organiser's website. It is open to the public, who can either park at the Carrefour or inside at the McDonalds on the south side. Opening hours are between 9am and 12pm. You should not arrive after 10.30am as many people leave early to get their Sunday lunch.
The organizer's website
Photos taken by the organiser's own photographer
What happened to Columbo's car?
Other posts about French cars
