Cars of France Trivia Quiz

Answer: Citroen

Andre Citroen had experience manufacturing helical gears and armaments for WWI before developing his first car in 1919 - The Type A - a simple 10HP car four-seater. It was the first mass-produced car in Europe. It sold over 21000 units in two years. He continually developed new cars, most with innovations not seen in other makes.

In 1934, the Traction Avant (second row right) was released. It contained three revolutionary features still in use today: a unitary body without a separate chassis, four-wheel independent suspension and front-wheel drive. The model was one of the first to use rack and pinion steering and wishbone/torsion bar suspension. The lack of a bolt-on chassis meant the car had a low-slung aerodynamic look (which allowed the model to be manufactured successfully until 1955). Because of its lightweight, it could reach 100km/hr (62 mph) and had marvellous fuel economy of 10L/100km (24 US mpg).

Answer: Peugeot

Peugeot is the oldest car company in the world, as this family business started making steel products in its foundry in 1810. It developed its first vehicle, a steam-powered unit in 1889, then, with Gottlieb Daimler in 1890, developed an internal combustion engine which powered its early vehicle. In 1892 the company made 29 vehicles which increased to 300 by 1899. Early models were given type numbers and Peugeot vehicles were the first to be given rubber (solid not pneumatic) tyres. By 1929, at type 183, this naming system was abandoned with the introduction of the 201 (an inexpensive sedan that looked similar to the Ford Model A roadster). This was the start of all Peugeot models using the trademarked three digits with a central zero.


The Peugeot 504 (third-row centre) replaced the mega-successful 404 model in 1968. it was a conventional medium-sized four-door sedan with front-engine and rear-wheel-drive. Its notable features included long suspension movement, high ground clearance, larger wheels and a torque tube (enclosed) driveshaft. With a strong body, this made a very robust automobile and for this reason, it was very popular in Africa and South America. Coupe, cabriolet, station wagon and commercial body styles were available in a single generation over the lifespan of the car (until 1983 in Europe). It was manufactured or assembled in 16 different countries (and continued to be assembled in Africa until 2006). Over three million units were produced.

The 504 won the 1969 European Car of the Year award but perhaps its biggest accolade was in 2013 when the "Los Angeles Times" called it "Africa's workhorse."

Answer: Renault

Renault S.A. can trace its history back to 1898 when engineer Louis Renault designed and built the Renault Voiturette 1CV for a family friend. With two brothers to manage the business, they founded the Renault corporation in 1899 to develop and build an automobile business. Their big break came in 1905 when they were commissioned to build a fleet of taxis for Paris and then London. By 1908 they were the largest French car manufacturer with 2575 units produced that year. The company started making trucks in a separate division in 1906. They also built aircraft engines, and, during the war years, military vehicles and ammunition. In the 21st century, Renault is a major multinational company with the French state and Japanese manufacturer Nissan both owning 15% of the company. It is part of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance and owns subsidiaries like Alpine (sports cars) and Dacia (Romanian cars).

The Renault 4CV (bottom left) was the first French car to sell over a million units. It was a small car with a 760cc rear-mounted engine driving the rear wheels. It was conceived and developed covertly during WWII when Germany occupied France. At the time Renault had to manufacture commercial and military vehicles for Germany. Whilst denied by the designers, the car is France's version of the German Volkswagen - a people car (looking from the rear, the car's resemblance to the VW is obvious). The car was small, being only 3.663m (144 in) long and weighing only 620 kg (1,367 lb). It had chrome strips in place of a grille to make the car look like a front-mounted motor. Its other notable exterior feature was the rear-hinged "suicide doors".

Answer: Other French Brands

Automobiles Ettore Bugatti was a manufacturer of luxury high-performance automobiles. The company was founded in 1909 by the Italian-born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti, in Molsheim, Alsace (that was part of Germany before WWI and returned to France afterwards). His cars were low volume in number but sought after, as Bugattis had great success in Grand Prix motor racing and the 24-hour Le Mans race. The most famous Bugatti automobiles included the Type 35 Grand Prix cars, the Type 41 "Royale", and the Type 57 "Atlantic" sports car.

The beautiful Type 41 which became known as the Royale (top row, centre) was manufactured between 1927-33. It was one of the largest cars ever made. It had a huge 4.3 m (169.3 in) wheelbase was 6.4 m (21 ft) in overall length, and weighed over 3,180 kg (7,000 lb). The motor was a 12,763 cc (12.8 L; 778.8 cu in) straight-8 but only had a 3-speed manual transmission. Ettore Bugatti planned to build 25 cars and sell them to European royalty. The limited production run and size of the car ensured this would be a very expensive car but it was built during the great depression and even royalty were not buying cars at this time. Only seven were built and six still existed in 2023 - all locked away in museums. Bugatti has maintained its reputation for quality French cars built in low numbers well into the 21st century.

Answer: Citroen

The Citroen 2CV (second row left) was quite possibly the stereotypically French car - Instantly recognisable as an indicator of France. It was manufactured in a single generation from 1948 - 1990, selling over nine million units. The brief for its introduction was to motorise farmers who were still using horses and carts in the 40s and 50s. As such it was a combination of innovative simplicity and utilitarian styling, operation with minimal running costs. It had a front-mounted air-cooled engine, long-travel suspension to cope with unpaved rural roads and a roll-back canvas roof that facilitated oversized loads. The initial motor was a tiny 375cc (23 ci) flat twin cylinder which developed 9 horsepower or 6.6 kW. It took 42 seconds to get to 40km/hr and had a top speed of 64km/hr (40mph). A 425cc motor was introduced in 1955 followed by a 602 cc revision in 1970 which developed 29bhp. This latter motor meant a top speed of 100km/hr (62 mph) was possible.


There is some confusion with the name. The French translation of 2CV is deux chevaux, literally "two horses", meaning "two (taxable) horsepower". Taxable horsepower was not the same as brake horsepower. It was a theoretical calculation based on the number of cylinders and engine parameters. The calculation was necessary to determine how much it would cost to register the car to drive on the road - The lower the taxable horsepower the cheaper the 'tax'.

Answer: Peugeot

The Peugeot 205 (second-row centre) was the smallest model in Peugeot's range when built. It had a production run from 1983 to 1999 in a single generation. It won several "Car of the Year" awards and it even won "Car of the Decade" by "Car" magazine in 1990.

Peugeot traditionally made medium to large cars. When they took over the Simca factory they had access to tooling for small cars. The previous 104 model was a success but the 205 saved the company. It did not have much in the way of innovation except the rear suspension was fully independent with trailing arms with torsion bars at the rear. This setup used little space and a large flat boot/trunk was created. Engines were 950cc to 1.9 L (58-117 ci) driving the front wheels.

All three major French car makers invested heavily in motorsport, particularly rallying. In the 205 GTI model, they had a pocket rocket with excellent handling. Its success in the rallying scene facilitated improvements in performance and handing in later road models.

Answer: Other French Brands

Simca (Société Industrielle de Mécanique et Carrosserie Automobile; Mechanical and Automotive Body Manufacturing Company) was a French automaker, that made automobiles in France between 1934 and 1978. At first, it was controlled by the Italian car manufacturer Fiat and then in 1970, it became part of the Chrysler group. Chrysler divested its European holdings when Simca was incorporated into PSA Peugeot Citroën.

The Simca Aronde was manufactured from 1951-64 in three generations. (First generation is pictured top right) It was the first original design by Simca - previous models were based on Fiats. Over 1.4 million Arondes were built which made Simca the second-biggest French automaker at the end of the 1950s.

The car, unlike most French cars of the era was utterly conventional. It had a front-mounted 1220 cc (58 ci), 44.5 bhp (33.2 kW) engine mated to a four-speed gearbox driving the rear wheels. Initially offered only as a sedan, a station wagon and a van were available by 1953.

Answer: Other French Brands

Between 1962 and 1964 Automobiles René Bonnet (ARB) was a French automobile maker that made three types of sports cars after the partnership between Charles Deutsch and René Bonnet was broken up (together they produced the DB brand of French Sports cars between 1937 and 1962). Matra, a French industrial conglomerate supplied bodyshells and the factory for ARB so when ARB had financial troubles in 1964, Matra took over ARB as they were keen to get into the automotive market themselves.

They redesigned an ARB model, the Djet and called it the Mantra Djet. Mantra then decided it would make its own sports car that would appeal to the non-racing public. The result was the Matra Sports 530 (badged as the Matra 530) (top, left). It was based on the Djet with a mid-mounted engine (that was accessible through the acrylic rear windscreen) mounted on a steel backbone chassis and glass-reinforced plastic bodywork. The engine had to be small to fit in the rear space. A 1.7 L (101ci) Ford Taurus V4 was used, mated to its four-speed gearbox. It could reach 175 km/h (109 mph). It was meant to compete with the British Lotus Elan but was not as powerful. It was cheaper than the Lotus. Other notable features were its targa top roof and hidden headlamps It received plaudits for its "refinement, handling and steering, soundness of construction and finish" which was thought to compensate for its lack of performance.

It debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in 1967 and had a minor facelift in 1970 when it was called the M530 SX. A budget version, the SX, was released at this time which had a fixed roof and four fixed headlamps attached to its nose. Production ceased in 1973 with 9609 produced. It has become a collectors' car with approximately 1000 still running in 2023.

Answer: Peugeot

The major French manufacturers were slow to embrace the SUV/Crossover market. The first Peugeot model was a facelifted Mitsubishi Outlander (second generation) produced in Japan in Mitsubishi's Nagoya plant (Citroen sourced the same vehicle with a different facelift). It was first released in 2007 and did not sell well with only 49000 units sold in five years.

It was replaced by the 4008 (third row, left) which was more of a collaborative effort between the French and Japanese manufacturers. The subcompact Crossover SUV was based on the Mitsubishi ASX platform. It had both petrol and diesel variants in sizes ranging from 1.6-2.0 litres (100-125 ci) in front wheel drive configuration. It sold well particularly in China which had more sales than in France. It was replaced in 2017 by the subcompact second generation 2008 and the second variant of the compact 3008.

Answer: Renault

The Renault 4 (later 4L) Bottom, centre) was the Renault company's version of the Citroen 2CV. It had a production run of over eight million units. While it was marketed as an economy car with an estate/station wagon body, its lack of a rear overhang and a top-mounted hinged tailgate made it the first mass-produced hatchback though it was never referred to by that term.

It had a small (747 cc - 46 ci) motor (there was also a cheaper R3 model that had a 603cc /38 ci motor) with a three-speed gearbox driving the front wheels. Like its Citroen counterpart, it had fully independent suspension and rack and pinion steering. Over the 33-year production run the top speed gradually increased to 1108 cc (62ci) with a four-speed manual gearbox introduced in 1968. Van and pickup versions were available and even a convertible was made in limited numbers.

Answer: Renault

The Renault 4CV served France well in the post-war era but Renault knew they would need a bigger roomier car that would be able to match France's increased standard of living and one that could travel at motorway speeds along the new French Autoroute national highway system. The result was the Renault Dauphin (Bottom, right) released in 1956 on a 12-year run. While still an economy car, the larger car featured a three-box design. The rear engine, and rear drive concept was retained. The engine was 845cc (51 ci) with a four-speed gearbox. A semi-automatic was offered as an option.

The model received many plaudits for its design, styling and transmission. However, it was underpowered and took 22 seconds to reach 100km/h (62 mph). Nevertheless, it sold over two million units and, alongside its stablemates, the Renault 4 and 4L, made Renault the leading French auto manufacturer in the 60s. Not bad when the French government, a major shareholder, wanted Renault to manufacture only trucks after WWII.

Answer: Citroen

The Citroen DS (third row, right) (and a cheaper version, the ID) was its successor to the Traction Avant. It was produced in three series from 1955-1975 with over 1.4 million units sold. It received almost universal praise for its futuristic design and technical innovation. It set new standards in ride, handling and braking. It came third in the 1999 Car of the Century poll behind the Model T Ford and the Mini. In 2009, "Classic & Sports Car magazine" named it the most beautiful car of all time. The two model names were French Language puns. If read in French they were pronounced as déesse, meaning 'goddess', whereas "ID" is pronounced as idée which translates as 'idea').

Some of the innovations of the DS included hydropneumatic suspension (automatic self-levelling and driver-adjustable ride height), front disc brakes, power steering as standard and a semi-automatic gearbox option. It was a large car, almost 5m (196 in) long with a massive wheelbase of 3124mm (123 in). The car became a symbol of France, almost as recognisable as the Eiffel Tower.