With spare time running low, we’ve not had much chance recently to visit car meetings, and those local to the author usually have a very low content of AROnline‘s finest. However, the annual Citroën A to ZX and general French car meeting in Simpelveld tempted us out again to spot some of the late Roy Axe’s fine designs amongst a fleet of cars running on hydropneumatic suspension.
Words and photography: Alexander Boucke
September was very kind to those living in the Three Borders area between Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands with loads of sunshine and high temperatures. The classic car season was definitely not over yet with the 21st A t/m ZX markt opening in the morning of the last Sunday in September.
The area reserved for French cars was soon filled to the brim. Naturally, two Citroën models dominated the rows: D-models and 2CVs in various shapes and conditions. Notably missing were the GS and SM with one of each attending only, and not a single AMI6 in sight.
On the other hand, there were plenty of cars that you would be very lucky to spot on the road: Peugeot 604 and 104ZS, pre-war 201 and 302, Talbot Matra Murena, Talbot Horizon and 1510 (Alpine to UK buyers) and plenty more.
The museum railway of the South Limburg Steam Railway (ZLSM) created an excellent backdrop for the event. Steam trains with historic coaches were running all day and, for a small fee, the visitors had the chance to escape the cars for a while and go on a steam ride on the scenic line covering three stations running through the vineyards of southern Limburg.
With the organizers of the market just asking for a small donation on entrance, sufficient funds were left for enjoying the day or trying to spot interesting bits and bobs on the boot-sale.
Click here for a short report from the local TV news on YouTube.
- Our Cars : Martin’s Austin Allegro – Back in the UK again - 12 May 2023
- Our Cars : Martin’s Austin Allegro – a very good service - 15 March 2023
- Opinion : Volkswagen Golf – the missing link - 2 January 2023
Now this is a car show to enjoy, as my family owned three Chrysler/ Talbots and they seemed to vanish from the roads by the mid nineties. Nice that there’s a show devoted to these cars, but it would be interesting how many were sold in the Netherlands as I was there in 1988 and only saw one.