Originally ‘Sable Noir’ in colour, this gorgeous car adopted its new colour of ‘Sand’ (or just ‘Sable’, which, as you know, is French for sand) in 1971 at around the time it made an appearance in an episode of ‘Freewheelers’, a children’s television programme of the era.

In 1976 it was bought by the vendor, a now retired engineering surveyor who has been its careful, diligent and expert curator ever since.

He has carried out minor repairs, routine servicing and jobs such as cleaning the hydraulic filters himself, but has always sought the best advice and expertise for anything more substantial or time consuming.

At some point in the 1980s, the car was fitted with a replacement 1972 Safari chassis.

In 1985 the car’s engine was rebuilt, the hydraulic pipes and wiring loom renewed and various cosmetic jobs carried out - all courtesy of DS specialist Dave Myers of Shropshire.

The car went off to marque specialists Centreville for a major restoration in the mid-2000s.

They stripped th...