You might think a guy like Chris Harris, who frequently drives cars engineered to the highest degree of performance, has no patience for anything resembling a people’s car. But as featured in the latest series of Top Gear, he’s absolutely in love with his 1957 Citroen 2CV.
The Citroen 2CV was produced from 1948 to 1990, serving millions as a reliable little air-cooled front-wheel drive car known for its simplicity. If you’ve been watching the latest series of Top Gear, you may be surprised to learn that Chris owned the 2CV he drove in episode four, and he loves to gush over it.
The “professionally aged” look of this 2CV is completely original from 1957, showing off all of its years living in Northern France. Most of the car is original, but the chassis had been replaced around 10 years ago. Harris bought it off of somebody in England, and he’s kept it around despite its limited top speed of near 40 MPH taking him six hours to actually manage to drive it home.
Harris’ enthusiasm is contagious, and a car like a 2CV drives home the point that “driving is about operating controls, not how fast you go.” Every ride in his 2CV is an adventure, and it seems like it does a good job of taking care of you even if you don’t return the favor.