People flock to old, rare and exceptional cars in Perpignan. Last Sunday, the 300th meeting took place. These cars are history and culture – and cars should be driven, not stand still.

Regular readers know the posts with photos from French car meets in Perpignan, France. We have a small house in France, and when we are there, I take the opportunity to pop in when the meetings are arranged - always the first Sunday of each month. The meetings are open to classics, youngtimers, rare and exceptional cars and are held at the Carré d'Or shopping center in the east of the city. There is no doubt that the meetings are very popular. Sunday's meeting was number 300 in a row.
 
I am not the only visitor who does not exhibit any car. There are many visitors - entire families looking at the beautiful cars. Fathers show cars that their grandparents drove around in. All work in RVA66 is done on a voluntary basis, and it's free for everyone to come and see. RVA66 stands for Rassemblement de Véhicules du 66 - collection of vehicles from 66 - department 66 is Pyrenees-Orientales.
 
Terje's cars has a separate page called Cars from A to Z. Here I enter pictures and descriptions of car models I have driven myself, or taken pictures of along the road or at meetings like this. Eventually, I can show different cars of the same model – different variants, year models and facelifts.
 
Here are the pictures from last Sunday. My wife and I took a Sunday trip here, walked for about an hour, went back and had Sunday lunch in a town square. The temperatures down here by the Mediterranean are currently lower than in Norway. A small consolation is that a glass of red wine costs NOK 32 and that the first cherries have gone on sale at stalls around the city.

German cars

Had it not been for the small cars Isetta and BMW 700, BMW would not exist today. They were on the verge of bankruptcy during the 1950s when they bet heavily on large luxury models that people could not afford. The BMW 700 succeeded the Isetta-based BMW 600. It was a more grown-up car, but still with engines from BMW's motorcycle range – a 700cc 2-cylinder boxer engine. Besides the cabriolet, like the car in the picture, the BMW 700 could be delivered as a Coupé with a fixed roof and as a 2-door sedan.

Early coupe versions of BMW Neue Classe had a front reminiscent of a shark's jaw - hence the nickname "Sharknose". The nice coupé shape was carried forward in the BMW E9, but unfortunately without the tough front section. BMW E9

I was unsure whether the Mercedes-Benz 190 "Ponton" was offered in the same red color as the car in the picture, but after searching the color chart, I see that the color is probably called "Feuerrot". No doubt it must have been a bold color choice in the 1950s, but since Mercedes-Benz supplied cars that went into public service, this might have been a nice color for fire marshals and doctors making house calls. Mercedes-Benz W120

Volkswagen from Brazil?

Volkswagen in Rat Look

Perpignan has a local importer of cars from Brazil and lately several nice cars have appeared from there. I also think the red Volkswagen originates from Brazil, because of the windshield. At one point, European Volkswagens got larger windshields, something Brazilian cars probably didn't get.

English cars

An early version of the Jaguar XK120 Roadster

Jaguar XK120 Roadster

The interior of the Jaguar XK120

Jaguar XK150

There is great interest in English cars in this French area. The finest car at the meet, in our opinion, was this early Jaguar X120 Roadster that appeared in the late 1940s (top photo series). A more modern X150 also took part in the meeting. Jaguar XK150

"Stylish color", my wife exclaimed when she spotted the lemon yellow MGB Coupé. Early V8 cars were fitted with Rover's 3,5 litre. Also notice the beautiful MG A in the picture below. MG MGB

Italian cars

I brought pictures of two Italian cars from the car meet at RVA66. The most special is probably the red Vespa 400. It has a 2-cylinder air-cooled stern-mounted scooter engine which, according to the specifications, should produce 14 horses and reach a top speed of 80-90 km/h. It can be registered as a heavy 4-wheel motorcycle (L7e) I think that if a new Ferrari and an old Vespa 400 are lined up next to each other in a place where most people travel, the Vespa will get the most attention. Autobianchi

Vespa 400

Autobianchi A112 Abarth

French cars

One of the most boring cars at the meet (according to my wife) was this Renault 12. I took the photo to complement an earlier post about this model – Renault 12. The Renault 12 is more conventional than other Renaults of the same time. The aim was to offer a lot of car for little money – a successful concept that Renault succeeded well with.

The Renault 5 is highly relevant as Renault's new electric car for the masses – a car that has been given a retro design similar to the original cars that saw the light of day in 1972. Now the first model is being brought to light again. Renault 5

Renault Floride Coupé

Renault Dauphine

This Renault Floride Coupé is pictured here on Terje's cars earlier. Floride is the first edition of this model. The next edition was called Caravelle. The reason why the Floride name was dropped was that the car was to be launched in the USA and there it was believed that Floride (Florida) would not work as a model name. I have also included a photo of a Renault Dauphine - one with an "Export" mark on the back - probably a model from 1964 or later which was also - or was to be - exported to the USA. Renault Florida - Renault Dauphine

The organizer's website RVA66