On the first Sunday of every month, car enthusiasts gather in a deserted shopping center outside Perpignan. Then the area is suddenly filled with hundreds of people and cars. After about an hour, everyone has disappeared one by one.
It's not just about French cars, but cars that have been popular on French roads - as well as cars that the French have taken to heart. Today, the French import vintage cars from all over the world. US cars and English sports cars get French passion plates. One factor that makes it interesting to view car collections here is the dry climate, which means that the cars do not rust. Then you can still study cars that have long since been turned into soil at home. Many of the cars are still driven by owners who are unaware that the old cars have become valuable, but fortunately many are starting to take care of them. Several of them can be found in the pictures in this post.
Sports cars
Alpine A110
reappeared in 2017 in the same form as the legendary A110 model that was produced between 1963 to 1977. The new model follows the same basic concept as its predecessor. It is a light car with a relatively small engine with high performance. The predecessor had a fiberglass body on a steel frame and stern engine. The new model is constructed in aluminum and has the engine centrally located at the rear. It is a 1,8 liter turbo engine that produces from 249 to 300 HP depending on the model. A very beautiful car - one of the few cars you could buy just for its looks. The pictured car has a special decoration which is the same as Alpine's Formula 1 team uses in the Formula 1 model A521.
Aston Martin GT8
This model was produced from 2017 as a special model in only 150 copies. A 4,7 liter V8 that produces 446 HP. Despite a lot of "trim", the weight has been reduced by 100 kg. Here you really have to take care to take it easy over the speed bumps and keep a good distance to the concrete edges of the car park.
Ferrari 308 GTS
Few cars look as good in photos as the Ferrari 308. It has clean, marked and straight lines - a design that has stood the test of time very well. The model was in production from 1975 to 1985. "308" stands for 3 liters and 8 cylinders. When the 308 was launched, many hardcore Ferrari fans believed that 8 cylinders were not suitable for any Ferrari. There were supposed to be 12 cylinders. Today, Ferrari has been very successful with its 8-cylinder cars - all full-fledged Ferraris.
DeTomaso Pantera
It's not often you get to see a DeTomaso Pantera, and even more rarely a yellow one. The DeTomaso 874 Pantera was equipped with a Ford 351 Cleveland V8 engine, mid-rear. It both sounds and runs really well! But Ford was not just a subcontractor to De Tomaso. They bought into the company and sold the cars in the US through their Lincoln-Mercury dealer network. The collaboration with Ford lasted from 1971 to 1975. The car pictured was probably produced during this period. Incidentally, I have never noticed the plaque with "Power by Ford" before.
Porsche Boxster
The Porsche 986 Boxster was the first Boxster model to hit the market. It was produced from 1996 to 2003 with water-cooled boxer engines. Technically, the Boxster is a more pure sports car than its big brother the 911, in that the engine is centrally located behind, that is, it sits in front of the rear axle. The 911, by comparison, has a pure stern engine. The special thing about the pictured car is the colour. It suits the car, although it takes courage to choose such a colour.
Simca Rally 2
The Simca 1000 was cheap, especially in France. Well, the cars were cheap and small, but they were tough and got an image for going really well. What contributed to the raised image was the Rallye edition. 4 different engines have been delivered in the Rallye edition over the years. The pictured model is the Rallye 2 – a street racer at an affordable price. I don't know exactly how much the car in the picture produces, but in the standard version it produced something like 80 horses. It can create a lot of fun in a car that only weighs 800 kg. This car must be like driving a go-cart on the road.
Do you remember these?
Lancia beta
I've seen the Lancia Beta in a 5-door version before, but can't remember when. I marveled at the condition of the car in the photos. It seemed brand new without being newly refurbished. The model was produced between 1975 and 1984. It received a significant facelift in 1980 which, in my opinion, did not make the car any more beautiful. The car in the picture is from before 1980. It was equipped with a 1600 engine.
Fiat 600 Multipla
This must have been the most popular car at the meeting. It was almost impossible to take a picture of it. I think the kids especially thought this was a fun vehicle. And the Multipla really was a phenomenal vehicle in the 60s. Just over 3,5 metres, 700 kg heavy and still room for up to 5 people with 2 rows of seats and 6 (!) people with 3 rows of seats. The platform of the model originates from the Fiat 600 and one can find several common design elements. The Multipla received reinforcements in the undercarriage based on components taken from the Fiat 1100.
Ford Taunus Transit
These cars were probably just as often referred to as Taunus van than the Taunus Transit. The model was produced until 1965 and equipped with engines from the Taunus 17M series. The cars were built at Ford's plant in Cologne. British Ford built another model, Fort Thames. Both models were represented in Norway. It has been a long time since I have seen a Taunus Transit in Norway. The two cars belong to different generations. It was Volkswagen's T2's predecessor, the T1, which was produced at the same time as the Taunus Transit.
There will be more photos from the car collection in new posts, including the Renault 5 which celebrates 50 years this year - and the Renault Turbo 2.
See
RVA66 – the organizer's website
