A trio of oddball French cars

I put in a few oddball cars on Autocade today. The following, all with French brand names, are either market failures, or vehicles that are strange to my eyes. At one point, there was a great push to have car model names consistent throughout the globe; now it matters less if a Chevy based on the Astra is called a Vectra in Brazil, or, for that matter, if a type 206 Peugeot is called the 207 there. The Renault Avantime, meanwhile, showed that doing niche vehicles did not always pay off.

Citroën Bijou. 1959–64 (prod. 207). 2-door coupé. F/F, 425 cm³ (2 cyl. OHV). Coupé version of 2CV for British market, with more conservative styling designed to appeal to UK consumers. Parts’ bin used, with single-spoke steering wheel, and rear window from DS Safari. Heavier than 2CV and considered expensive; 425 cm³ was underpowered, developing 12 bhp.

Peugeot 207/Peugeot 206+. 2008 to date (prod. unknown). 3-, 4- and 5-door saloon, 5-door estate. F/F, 1360 cm³ (4 cyl. OHC), 1587 cm³ (4 cyl. DOHC). Facelifted 206, as Peugeot of Brazil claimed it would be too costly and impractical to launch the European model there. Sold in Brazil and neighbouring markets, but exported as 207 Compact to those countries where European 207 was also sold. Four-door saloon called 207 Passion; faux off-road SW estate gained extra Escapade model name, as had 206 in Brazil. No major improvements on 206—better thought of as a mid-term facelift. Criticized around launch in Brazilian press for being a revised, rather than all-new, model. Launched in France in 2009 as a budget model, built at Mulhouse, and bearing 206+ nameplate.

Renault Avantime. 2001–3 (prod. 8,557). 2-door coupé. F/F, 1998 cm³ petrol, 2188 cm³ diesel (4 cyl. DOHC), 2946 cm³ (V6 DOHC). Odd marriage of MPV silhouette and two-door hardtop coupé configuration, developed to use Matra facilities in Romorantin. Built using composite panels, as with earlier Matras and original Renault Éspace. Huge doors, making it less practical in smaller car parks. A fast cruiser with an excellent view out; but too bulky to be a real coupé. Considered a flagship, but flopped; production ceased two years after launch.