Pardon the French.
On holiday in Lorient, Brittany, France, Patrick ‘Carspotter’ Cummins does what he always does.
Sniffs out three classic jammers for your motor coveting pleasure.
1. Renault 4 GTL ‘Clan’: “The Renault 4 was a once-ubiquitous car in Ireland and was used by the Department of Posts & Telegraphs. Although I’m too young to remember personally, I have in my mind that most 4s here were the panel van version. Here is a family car model in high-end GTL spec. It also bears the ‘Clan’ badge which is nothing more than a cosmetic accolade. Interestingly, Renault 4s were built in Ireland at a plant on the Naas Road, operated by Smiths, and then later at a plant in Wexford. These were all assembled by hand.”
2. Peugeot 205 Cabriolet: ‘The 205 Cabrio was referred to as the ‘CT’ and also fell in-line with the special edition ‘Roland Garros’ version of the car. Looking at the rear-end styling, I would guess this model is from the mid-90s.‘
3. Opel Corsa: “I remember seeing this Opel Corsa in the same location last year and it was unmoved throughout the 10 days I spent in Lorient. Perhaps it is not currently roadworthy. It’s nice to see a pre-facelift Corsa which indicates that it must be older than 1988. In the UK this was produced by Vauxhall as the Nova. Although there seems to be some cosmetic changes to the car, I would guess that it was originally a bog-standard petrol model.”
Pics: Patrick Cummins
I don’t like this new trend for reg numbers not specifying regions. Spain, France and Italy have gone this way and I’m not impressed. It’s very homogenous. A stink of central government off it.
I liked ROma, 75, M.
Now it’s just bland.
4Ls had a gearstick coming out of the dashboard.
like your Ma
I don’t know why I laughed, but I did.
Same here :)
Sadly I am old enough to remember the P&T Renault 4 vans. The regular ‘4’ was very popular, more so than the van version I would think.
Here in France people accept that when it snows, or the roads are icy, you don’t drive unless you can handle it or have a spare set of winter tyres therefore the councils don’t spend a fortune on salting roads.
Why should they?
The upside of it is that cars last a long time if you keep up with the oil changes etc.
The trustee Vauxhall Nova. The early 2000’s boy racer car of choice.
My uncle (perennial hipster) had the 4- greatest car memory as a kid (1981) zipping through Donnybrook after an Embassy Grill chip stop,with a hole in the floor of said motor my brother & I all “Wheeeee”. Good Times.