Autoblog

The Citroen 2CV is already a unique-looking car, with Citroen's distinct mid-century-modern style and flair. The French auto could be considered the opening salvo in a styling onslaught that led to such heights of style as the DS. A regular 2CV could be considered a piece of art, and Andy Saunders saw his French runabout as a canvas for further experimentation. Inspired by Pablo Picasso, pieces of the CV were sliced, diced, moved hither and yon, and repainted to mimic the artist's 1937 portrait of Dora Maar. The car is street legal in England, and we can only imagine the double takes it garners as it motors on down the street. Nighttime visibility must be rather entertaining, with both headlamps on one side of the car, and since turn signals received similar treatment, you'd best know your hand signals if you don't want this art car to suddenly become a collaborative effort, painted by someone else's vehicle-shaped brush. Saunders's car was at Goodwood this year, and Autoblog photographer extraodinaire Frank Filliponio snagged a shot of it. Just like Picasso's work, this Citroen will garner diametrically opposed reactions, but love it or hate it, it is a brilliant homage to an artistic movement that was fresh and vibrant when this humpbacked, bug-eyed voiture first saw the light of day.