Citroen Mehari: Camel of the Cote D’Azur.

-

This quirkily French take on the Mini Moke is a Citroen Mehari.   Named after an apparently quite fast dromedary, it’s powered by a monster 602 cc flat two cylinder engine (the same one used in the 2CV), weighs in at a corpulent 535 kg and is made of ABS plastique. 


I think it’s pretty cool in a Gallic kind of way.   Ironically, this one was photographed in Italy, just over the border from France, whereas the Fiat 500 Jolly featured last week (https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2023/07/fiat-500-jolly.html)  was snapped on the French side of the boundary between the two countries.  


Not that it’s much of a border; crossing from bon jour to buona giornata is about as auspicious as passing through the Flannelette Curtain from New Town to Moonah, but without the sudden abundance of car yards, muffler shops and smash repair businesses.  It is, quite literally , a stroll. 


Unless you’re an asylum-seeker, that is!   The French police are very keen that no illegal immigrants should sneak into their country and may be more than a little piqued that their Italian neighbours have been somewhat lax when it comes to stalling the steady flow of arrivals from Africa.  


But enough of that!   This particular Mehari was a sight to be seen as its tanned sixty-something driver and his similarly Mediterranean-skinned lady friend wound their way along a rocky path, en route to a lovely secluded beach.  I believe the correct term may be tres chic?



Arrivederci!




U M P H


(uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.)


iPhone images.



 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

EJ or EH Holden? (Up-dated December, 2022)

-
Image
EJ or the later EH? Several years ago, I posed the question:  Can somebody please explain the difference between an EJ and an EH Holden ute or van?  The response at the time wasn't overwhelming, so I did a bit of Googling and ferreting through my photos and came up with my own rough guide to EJ and EH identification.  Sedans and wagons are easy to tell apart ;  the EH's vertical rectangular tail lights are a dead give-away.  However, the workhorse versions of both models share the rear-end treatment of the earlier EJ, making it harder to identify one from the other.    No super obvious hints here. Or here ...  . It turns out that the main clues are in the placement of the front   H O L D E N   lettering and GMH lion emblems, the style of the radiator grille and the width of the vents in front of the windscreen, with all EJs - sedans, wagons, utes and vans - having one combination and the EH line-up having th...
Read more

An Electric Fiat X1/9

-
Image
For several years, there have been whispers that an electric X had been constructed in Tasmania's south.  However, no one seemed to know much about the car and how it had been built. That's not to say that it was some kind of skunkworks project; it seems to have simply been an under-the-radar affair, quietly put together by a bloke in his shed.  It was actually so U-T-R that I'd seen it at least twice without me realising that it'd been electrified. The car's since been sold but this is what I could glean from its current owner:  - It's a 1980 model and, as such, was delivered to Australia as a "Series 1.5," meaning that it originally had the Series 1's 1300 cc / four-speed in a Series 2 body with impact-absorbing bumpers and the higher engine compartment lid, as well as the latter's interior; - The motor is a 120 volt DC unit from US company Advanced Motors and Drives, rated at 10 HP / 7.355 kW ( http://evalbum.com/advdc , accessed 03 JUN 24);...
Read more

Random # 301: Nanna-Spec KE36 Corolla

-
Image
  Once upon a time - six or seven years ago, actually - there was a lovely pale yellow GC Galant station wagon getting around Hobart.  It was totally nanna-spec; its paint was umarked, the chrome work and hubcaps were immaculate, and its very original interior was pristine. Then someone stuck feathers in its dashboard.  Next, the windows were adorned with Tibetan prayer flags.  And a hubcap went missing.  And the the rear bumper was pushed in, mangling the bodywork behind it.  And a mudguard got dented.  And rust set in.   I fear for this sweet, innocent KE36 Corolla.  Somebody please save it before it's too late.  Nanna needs you to do it. Hello, reader! I've noticed that this seems to be a particularly popular post.  Something to do with Google's algorithms, I guess ... .  But it's not my best piece!  Sure, it's ok, but there are so, so many more interesting classic, sports and performance cars on this site - as wel...
Read more