Travelling the world by 2CV

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A few weeks ago, we published a story about a touring holiday of Europe in a Riley RM, and asked if such adventures with interesting cars still took place, or whether they'd been killed off by  the cheap package holiday. We then heard from David Cordy, whose spirit of adventure is very much intact. His preferred Continental transport isn't in the same sort of grand-touring vein as the Riley, but it's just as much fun. We'll let David tell his story:

'In 1997, an adventure to Europe led my partner Adele and me to purchase and fall in love with a Deux Chevaux, the rouge et noir example pictured in Tasmania at the Nut, near Stanley. We toured France and the UK before bringing home our lhd Parisian souvenir.

'A return trip in 1999 yielded an English Deux which we drove to Italy and back before sending her home to a friend. In 2000, a friend acquired a rhd gris et gris example for us in the UK.
The Gris Grenouille has transported us over 75,000 miles all over France, Italy, the UK, etc. She has been as far afield as Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily, as well as northern Spain and Croatia. She has crossed the Alps and the Pyrenees, with many memorable passes under her belt - the Stelvio was the best.

'In total, we have spent almost two years cheek to cheek chugging around - very relationship building! True, she’s not as fast as the Riley, but there can be few better motoring experiences than touring the European countryside in summer with the roof rolled back and picnicking by the roadside as we go.

'She never fails to draw admirers and the inquisitive, as many people have never seen a rhd example. Did you notice that in Oz we drive a lhd and in Europe a rhd? We are a**e about face wherever we go!

'We lost our UK storage in 2022 and she is now domiciled near Toulouse with a friend.
We hope to return and continue the adventure as soon as French bureaucracy is navigated and she is registered there! The aim is to complete 100,000 miles at least! I’m sure there are many others just like us enjoying open road adventures in an old car.'

We certainly hope so. It's excellent to know that the spirit of spontaneity and adventure is alive and well. Maybe David and Adele could be persuaded to attempt a trans-American run? If you've been up to something similar, or have a special trip planned, why not let us know? We'd love to hear more tales of old cars being properly used and enjoyed.

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