Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

I have a soft spot for Deux Cheveax, as everyone I see driving one seems to be thoroughly enjoying it.

There was one time I was on a driving tour with the Se7ens List - a mailing list for all Lotus 7 inspired cars - Caterhams, Westfields, Daxes, Stikers, Robin Hoods, whatever. It was an epic 3 week tour - ferry to Bilbao, down through the Pyrenees to Andorra, over the Pyrenees to France and Milau, over to the Vosges mountains, and then up to Le Mans for the Le Mans Classic race. I came back with different tyres to the ones I'd set off on, having totally worn out the new AO21Rs I'd started with, and with only 4 out of 6 gears still working.

Anyway, while racing up a pass in the Pyrenees, we came across a large group of 2CVs and 2CV-based specials (lots of Lomaxes) coming down. We were flying up with our race-spec suspension, almost no body roll, minimum of 200bhp per tonne, oversteer powerslides on every hairpin, and more than a Dab of Oppo. The 2CVs and 2CV specials were coming down the hill with epic body roll of totally comedic proportions, tyres screeching with unrelenting understeer. I have no doubt we were covering ground faster, but I'm far from sure we were having more fun.

#csb

Oh, and the replacement tyres were Barum Brilliantis. Yes, I'd never heard of them either.
Not much choice of tyres for 13" rims in Andorra. They were comedically awful. Could have been worse. My friend ended up with 8 year old Dunlop snow and mud tyres, in a car with a very peaky motobike engine, a twisted chassis (he hit a Mountjack deer on the run down to the port), a digital on/off clutch and a Detroit locker rear diff which made a deafening clunk every time it engaged. It was not, apparently, a very relaxing drive. He finished most days' driving covered in sweat and twitching slightly after the tyre change.