Items that have become alarmingly dear, part 1

"Cé hé sin" (michael-m-mouse)
12/11/2015 at 12:19 • Filed to: Citroen, DS

A !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! that isn’t even a convertible (if it was, multiply by about five)

DISCUSSION (10)

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Cé hé sin
12/11/2015 at 12:23

Only one thing to do: start a factory to fab them up fresh.

Cé hé sin > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
12/11/2015 at 12:25

It’s almost being done: you can get them converted to convertibles which are a tad cheaper than the €200,000 or more that an original would cost you.

Berang > Cé hé sin
12/11/2015 at 12:28

I suspect a bubble.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Cé hé sin
12/11/2015 at 12:39

Given that it’s possible to buy a whole first-gen Mustang unibody structure for under $20,000, it really ought to be possible to make and sell a near-perfect DS replica for little enough to sell it. Possibly even one with some improvements engine-wise and some dressing up of the suspension to even greater heights (magnetohydraulics?).

RallyWrench > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
12/11/2015 at 12:41

If companies like ICON and Singer can make a go of it, and we can buy brand new steel ‘32 Fords, there might be a market. You’d have to focus on more than the DS, of course, but you could do interesting old Alpines, Peugeots, Renaults (hell, Darracq, Voisin...) as well for a properly idiosyncratic French catalog.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > RallyWrench
12/11/2015 at 12:52

Five model lineup, says I:

Traction Avant (with some DS replica bits to make a better driver)

DS (shares engine, large number of other parts as we’d build)

Dauphine Gordini (for lulz, and very cheap to do)

Delahaye 135/Talbot-Lago T150(make as different bodywork, similar but not identical underpinnings)

Alpine A108\110 (shared “better” driveline with whatever we stick in the Dauphine Gordini).

That’s five platforms, but only three drivetrain families, and a strong possibility of economizing on a lot of shared parts past that.

duurtlang > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
12/11/2015 at 13:03

With cars like the DS and 2CV a lot, if not everything , is available new. They’re so popular as weekend classics parts availability is no problem at all. You wouldn’t believe how many DSs I see driving around when the weather is nice.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > duurtlang
12/11/2015 at 13:10

That’s a large part of my idea/hypothetical. The success of replicas and/or restorations with wholly new sheet metal for what might be called similar cars in appeal in the US (the ‘32 Ford and the ‘65 Mustang) and the wide availability of most parts makes it possible to sell wholly new ones - which is more common over here with the ‘32 than the Mustang, but can be done with either. In short, once the sheet metal is sorted out and a good parts list assembled, very little high-cost casting and machining would need to be further arranged.

RallyWrench > duurtlang
12/11/2015 at 13:12

But you’re in that Europe place that has such cars. We colonists have been deprived!

RallyWrench > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
12/11/2015 at 13:17

I submit the R8 Gordini as well, because I lust for one, and we’d already have the mechanicals sorted for the Alpines.