WHEN I WAS IN high school, my form tutor would regularly turn up in a Citroën 2CV. It was the butt of many jokes – teenagers can be very cruel – but I was nerdy enough to understand that the big 007 stickers and fake bulletholes down each side made his car a very rare special edition.
Having pretty much destroyed a 1:18 Solido model of the 2CV you see here while re-enacting the car chase from For Your Eyes Only as a kid, I knew exactly what it was. Just as I appreciate the significance of the yellow 2CV standing in front of me today.
It’s scuffed, bulletholes, plus – when you look closer – a rollcage. That’s right, this is one of the stunt cars built for the film, and I’ve just been handed the key by Denis Huille – resident expert at the Citroën Conservatoire. The location might be in a particularly underwhelming suburb of Paris, and the weather is more suited to North Wales, but it’s nothing that could dampen my enthusiasm for this car.
