Description In daily use; 'rat rod' paint hides solid car; Burton Power Tube; get yourself noticed in the Tin Snail...

Launched in 1948, the 2CV was designed to fulfil the brief for a car that would carry two persons and a 50kg sack of potatoes across rough ground at a speed of 60kmh (37mph) with a fuel consumption of no more than 3 litres per 100km (94mpg) – not, as is often said, to carry a basket of eggs across a ploughed field, although this it could achieve with ease.

A masterpiece of minimalist design, the finished ‘umbrella on wheels’ was made from mostly flat stamped panels, cheap and easy to repair, and was held together with just 16 bolts.

The roof and (initially) the boot lid were made of canvas.

Although the original 375cc air-cooled flat-twin engine eventually grew to 602cc, the 2CV's performance remained modest at around 70mph flat-out, not that that concerned the majority of its devotees for whom the roomy interior, full-length sunroof and frugal fuel consumption wer...