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Few car makers are as distinctive and almost wilfully different as Citroën, which didn’t so much break the mould as cast a completely fresh one all for itself when it launched the ground-breaking Traction Avant in 1934. With front-wheel drive, independent front suspension, unitary construction, rack and pinion steering and a host of other cutting-edge features the Traction was one of the most advanced cars of its day. After the Second World War Citroën kept ploughing its own furrow (to use a suitably agricultural phrase) with the 2CV, which introduced motoring to the French masses and bemused everyone else with its out-of-the-box ideas such as an air-cooled flat-twin engine, corrugated body panels, dash-mounted gear lever, fabric rolling roof, spindly wheels, absurdly soft suspension and off-putting mix of extreme body roll and almost unlimited grip.

Lotus Elite rebuilt from a box of bits. The second generation Elite was designed to launch Lotus into new market sector and this fine example has been lovingly revived from a part finished project. Words & Photography Ivan Ostroff.