A Baker’s Dozen of Citroëns at the Rockville Antique Car Show

By Peter Kristensen….

At this year’s Rockville Antique and Classic Car Show, Henry met up with his friend Alain who said he’d brought his Mercedes 560 SL and then asked “What did you bring?” Henry responded “I brought a Chateau Bourdieu 2020 and saucisson sec, and my friends brought Camenbert, Bleu d’Auvergne, fresh Wisconsin chèvre, and baguettes.” And that pretty much summed up the exceptionally quaint set up that the DC-area Citroënistes mobilized to enjoy the car show on October 18th.

From a Citroën car perspective, the event was also exceptional as we’ve never had so many Citroëns at the show, a dozen of them to be accurate, including:

• 1963 2CV AZ: Very rare and original, this 2CV was bought in France many years ago by the owner’s father and then brought to the United States.
• 1968 Ami 6: A well cared for and loved European spec Ami 6, recognizable for its oval headlights (U.S. spec had double round the U.S. DOT-required sealed headlights.)
• 1968 DS Safari: A zero-dollar project car put together with parts from other DS’s and painted with brown rattle can primer to make it even colored. The car recently toured West Virginia creating an instant connection with onlookers.
• 1970 ID 19: This ultra-reliable example of a U.S. version has been owned by the same family since 1976!
• 1972 SM: First purchased by Tommy Chong, of Cheech & Chong, this car has been with the current owner since the early 2000s and gradually brought back to its current splendor.
• 1974 SM Injection Électronique: About a third of the Citroën SMs were equipped with the Bosch D-Jetronic fuel injection and 2.7L engine, and this immaculate European spec with original cloth seats is one of them.
• 1975 2CV: A classic, here in vert bambou with a hippie flower decal, what isn’t there to love?
• 1976 2CV6: No, the 6 does not mean six cylinders but the 602cc, air-cooled, flat-twin engine that produced 28 horsepower. So classy in the bleu lagune color.
• 1980 Visa Chrono: With just 3,760 produced, this road-legal homologation of the Group B Citroen Visa for rally appears to be the only one in North America.
• 1980 CX GTi: A series 1 CX with the distinct “boule” ashtray, part of the reason why the owner bought the car.
• 1982 GSA Club: Originating from Arles, France, this GSA is in like-new condition with just 34,000 km on the odometer.
• 1990 2CV6: This last-year production 2CV has the felt fabric sound-deadening insulation installed under the engine to meet European car noise regulations.

Let’s make it a Baker’s Dozen when also including a Citroëniste’s rare 1959 Mercedes 230 SE, fuel injected, one of just 1,914 sedan versions made.

Young people may be favoring their devices, but on this day, with the many special cars, kids were drawn in by their history, design and craftsmanship. They seemed to be impressed by the different eras of design and engineering. The boys in the picture below were awed by Paul’s explanation of the engineering of his Citroën SM with a Maserati engine. Explore additional photos taken by Paul Robinson here: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCxUVR

Laurent Amzallag, a well-known fitness expert, instructor and TV personality in the DC area said the Citroëns are the first cars he stops by at the show, which he attends with his wife and two daughters: “These were the cars I fell in love with as a kid in the ‘70s in Canada watching those movies with Louis de Funès.” Funès, a popular French actor and comedian, was prominently featured in Citroëns, especially the Citroën 2CV in the Gendarme series and the Citroën DS in other films like Fantômas se déchaîne and Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob.

The Rockville Antique and Classic Car Show is a large, annual public event held at the Glenview Mansion at Rockville Civic Center Park in Maryland featuring a flea market, live music, food and beverages, and car sales. The 2025 show marked its 67th edition, and was attended by 540 cars from 33 clubs, including the Citroẽnistes of the DC area.

As the show concluded, Monique Ashton, mayor of the City of Rockville, announced the honorary winner of the show. There is just one winner and it was a 1923 Fort Model T Huckster owned by Richard Basset. Richard and his brother had dug the car out of a ditch in Rock Creek (the tributary that runs through Maryland and DC to the Potomac River) when they were teenagers and spent 15 years restoring it. They have maintained it since then.

That was a wrap for the DC-area Citroẽnistes, and as they packed up their café table, umbrella, wine and cheese they and said “à la prochaine” to their spot on the hill–looking forward to their next meet up.