Spec 2CV anybody?

or at least a 24 hour race for these cantakerous 2 cylinder cars.  Just proves the point that if you build it, somebody will race it.

I'd race the piss out of those. Might be faster to get out and push in the event of a breakdown though.

I can hear Jim McCay's voice now bringing this to the US live on ABC's Wide World of Sports. 

The thrill of victory :) 

I was watching one of those car shows on Motor Trend last weekend, and they were fixing up an old 2CV for a pair of French can-can dancers to drive to their events.  It was comical how janky and antiquated that car was.  They have about 3 feet of suspension travel and about a 20 in/lb spring rate... you could push up and down on the bumper and make the whole car pogo-stick.  The wheel bearings and brakes looked to be about the right size for a bicycle.

I once saw a 2CV headed up I-90 headed the other way as me. I can't imagine taking one of these things out on a 65mph interstate. Seems like a good way to get flattened. But kudos to the absolute madman.

In reply to ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) :

The original design goal was to allow a farmer to drive the car across a freshly ploughed field carrying a basket of eggs in the car, without breaking the eggs. Hence the relatively soft suspension and long travel.

I loved the statement 'nothing on road tires will go around a corner any faster than one of these'.  I have certainly used some hyperbole in defense of my weird E36 M3box addiction, but not to that level!!

BoxheadTim (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) :

The original design goal was to allow a farmer to drive the car across a freshly ploughed field carrying a basket of eggs in the car, without breaking the eggs. Hence the relatively soft suspension and long travel.

Also, the weird suspension seats that are strips of cloth stretched between a tube frame. I sat in one at the Lane Motor Museum and it was surprisingly comfortable, if a little alarming when you climb in and the car feels like it's a bout to flip over just from your weight.

NickD said:

I once saw a 2CV headed up I-90 headed the other way as me. I can't imagine taking one of these things out on a 65mph interstate. Seems like a good way to get flattened. But kudos to the absolute madman.

I had about the same reaction a few years ago when I saw one on the Merritt Parkway in CT.  The 55 speed limit is little more than a vauge suggestion on some stretches of that road. 

I love this hillclimb 2CV. It has a Rotrex-supercharged BMW bike engine swap. Not sure how much 2CV is left to it, although the description  says it is still running the stock gearbox, so perhaps more than you think.

We have the odd one (face it, they are all odd) in Canada. A very nice black and red one was run by a local real estate agent and another one was owned by a young guy who had a big key attached to the back to make it look like a wind-up toy.

I can't remember which driver it was but one of the former F1 drivers ran some events in these and said they were hilarious fun.

I had one a couple years ago......it was SLOWWWWW

425cc of raw power , later ones had 600cc , 

But it was artwork as far as being simple ,  and you got lots of smiles and waves , 

But you will get killed in one as they are so slow people are passing you all the time , 

And pulling onto a main road is scary !

If you buy one get the larger motor  , you can "almost" drive it on the freeway  at 55-60mph

But , I would love to have one to drive the back roads of France  :)

I think the race ones are getting "30" horsepower.

glad everyone liked the video.. I always wanted a French car, but not the usual 2CV, LeCar, or Alpine,  I want a Quatrelle.  I do not even mind the seriously odd PanelVan version.

I wonder how a 2CV would compare to Doc Brown's ongoing Honda Insight based / Predator motor powered experiment  with respect to power ?

From memory the cars dependent on engine size varied between something like 8 & 22 horsepower.

In reply to MotorsportsGordon :

GREAT AD , I wish I saw it when I had my 2CV so I could have looked down on that Rolls !

Chow !

I wonder if Chris Harris still has his.  I think being able to remove the front seat and use it as a patio sofa for a picnic is underrated.  That vid along with his F40/F50 test and the Pirelli rally tire launch are easily my 3 favs from Mr. Harris.

A couple (few?) years ago, I spotted a 'Rally Prepped' 2CV that had been imported from the motherland for sale here in Chi. I had to go look at it, and man was it cool. I couldn't afford the price they were asking, but it struck me as a car that would have been really fun on a Rallycross course.

It also struck me as a car that would be really fun with the stock engine torn out and a BMW Airhead or dare I say...the engine out of a GL1500 Goldwing?

I keep saying to my wife, if my PhD career doesn't work out, I'm going to start building custom BMW Airheads (because I love them so much). If I do, I'll need a 'shop truck' - A 2CV Truck/Truckette turned motorcycle/parts hauler - with a juiced up R1200 seems like the right ticket.

(Be sure and count the number of lugs here...)

Yeah I was going to add , for the cool factor try and find one with the old body style like the pick-up above has.....

same running gear.....  and  a van one is cool for light camping  !

NorseDave said:

I wonder if Chris Harris still has his.  I think being able to remove the front seat and use it as a patio sofa for a picnic is underrated.  That vid along with his F40/F50 test and the Pirelli rally tire launch are easily my 3 favs from Mr. Harris.

And 2 days after I post this he posts a vid of a field drag race between him and another chap in their 2CVs. Awesome.

I watched the whole thing. Great banter! That Andrew Frankel guy is pretty funny!

I married a woman from France.   The day after the Paris wedding we headed to the Pyrenees for our honeymoon. My wife was driving her dads 2CV.  I was trying to learn French and I would ask her what the French word was for things.  We were driving parallel to the Seine river.  I asked my wife for the French word for "lock".  She took her eyes of the road, swerved and hit a parked car.  The 2CV broke in half, bending up in a V.    We spent the night in the hospital and never made the honeymoon.