Yahoo Finance French Cars to Watch For at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games
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To most car fanatics in the United States, French cars are weird. This is in part because France has not officially exported vehicles to the States in 33 years, so we rarely see them. Moreover, France is something of a captive market for cars. It accounts for a paltry 2.8 percent of the European Union's automotive exports, around half that of Slovakia (5.8 percent) and Belgium (5.2 percent), and 20 times smaller than Germany (58.5 percent). So the overwhelming majority of French cars stay in France. We've all seen what happens when fauna evolves in a closed and unusual system. French cars are the platypus of the automotive world.
This is precisely why we love them. When we've had the chance to drive French cars, or imagine buying them, we've always emerged with newfound affection for their focus on comfort and delight, their cleverness, and their intricate engineering solutions to inchoate dilemmas.
Which brings us to the summer Olympics. This year, they are being held in the Frenchest city in the world: Paris. Despite its valid attempts to restrict pollution in the city center via congestion pricing, Paris is still a city of cars. Which got us thinking. Which new French cars would we most like to spot curbside, or in parking lots, in the background of Olympics TV coverage? So we put together this list for you. In France, bingo—known as Loto—is played with 90 numbers in nine columns, instead of our 75 in five, so you need to spot all nine of these in order to win the gold.
1) Citroën C4 Cactus: The Cactus may have gone out of production in France in 2021, but it is still prominent on the streets of Paris. And for good reason. The bizarre impact-absorbing rubberized bumps that were placed, in varying degrees of cover, along its flanks protected the cute-utes from door dings and impacts, kind of like a gymnast's mat. Motion to replace the pommel horse with Citroëns.
2) Peugeot 508 SW: Peugeot has long excelled at crafting handsome, practical, and smooth-riding station wagons, dating back to at least the 203 Familiale of the 1950s, and continuing through to the beloved 505 Turbo—the last of the line in America—and beyond. Its most recent addition, the 508 SW hits all those marks. Peugeot has been teasing, and un-teasing, a return to the States. Given our paltry wagon choices, we beg the brand to take the leap like an equestrian jumper.
3) Citroën C5X: Citroën's take on the full-size station wagon is, like most Citroëns, bizarre. Instead of just buckling a long roof and squared rear onto a sedan, the company designed an entire model that combines the huge wheels and jacked-up stance of an SUV with a coupelike profile—like a French Toyota Crown Signia. And it tacked on a famed brand-specific hydraulic suspension, bien sûr.
4) DS9: When launched in the mid-1950s, the DS—after deésse, French for "goddess"—was an innovative Citroën model. It has since been spun off into an upscale Stellantis subbrand. And while its pain-et-burre lies in a suite of small-medium-large luxe crossovers to compete with Audi and BMW, it also makes this executive sedan, which is built in China, but sold throughout Asia and Europe. You'll have to watch for it carefully because only 1200 are sold each year on the Continent—but we'd guess 99 percent reside in France.
5) Alpine A110: With its slickly unique shape, massaged engine, and racing heritage, the classic Alpine A110 from the 1960s and '70s exuded jet-age-tuner coolness. So when the marque and model were revived in 2017, the brand stuck with the same retro styling and layout. It looks the part. We've only seen one in Monte Carlo, but we're sure some are shooting bombastically around Paris.
6) Renault R5 EV: Growing up, one of our neighbors worked on the assembly line for AMC during its Renault merger phase, and they had a Le Car—the Americanized Renault R5—in their driveway. You could practically watch it rust in the Michigan winters. This one, revived as a retro-styled EV, hopefully will not oxidize quite so quickly. Though it's not going to be available until 2025, we bet you can spot one in an Olympic sponsorship display.
7) Citroën Ami: The Ami isn't actually a "car," per se. It's a quadricycle powered by batteries. With about 45 miles of range, a starting price of under 7500 Euros (just over $8000), and an equally diminutive size—more than five feet shorter and 800 pounds lighter than a classic VW Beetle—it can be parked in half of an average parking spot. It tops out at under 30 mph, which is still faster than even the best Olympic sprinter.
8) Renault Traffic SpaceNomad: It's not just the name. And it's not just the pop-top sleeper, built-in LED reading lights, sink, water tank, two-burner stove, and rooftop solar charger. And it's not just the fact that #vanlife in French is #lavieencamionnette. Okay, it's the name.
9) Bugatti Chiron: France has only one pinnacle automaker. It's located in Alsace, territory long contested by Germany. But what part of France isn't, really? And isn't the Olympics just another excuse for competitive nationalism? Anyway, some Arnault or Pinault or other proud French billionaire must own a Chiron and want everyone to see it, or some monarch or oligarch from elsewhere in the world must have flown theirs in while attending the festivities. Let the games begin.
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