A wooden Citroën 2CV, estimated in value between 150,000 and 200,000 euros, will be auctioned on Sunday, June 4 in Montbazon (Indre-et-Loire), France, auctioneers Aymeric and Philippe Rouillac announced today.
“It’s the only wooden car in the world in perfect working order. It’s an exceptional sale. It’s both a unique car and a work of art,” says Aymeric. The auctioneers estimate that the car, based on the “world record for a 2CV” that sold for 176,000 euros, has the potential to break that record.
We featured an article about its creation by Michel Robillard is a retired Frenchman and a cabinet-maker by profession in Citroënvie on March 24, 2017.
The bodywork of the AZKA type 2CV that Michel calls “La Belle Lochoise” is entirely made of fruit wood; walnut for the fenders, pear and apple for the bodywork, as well as cherry for the doors and trunk.
The 2CV is roadworthy! It passed the technical inspection. It has a 1957 ‘carte gris’, is presently registered and insured.
“I spent five years of my life on it, 5,000 hours of work, of passion, day and sometimes night. And the 2CV drove out of my workshop in September 2017”, he recalls but goes on to say; “I have a twinge in my heart yet I already have another crazy project in mind: the realization of a DS21 Cabriolet (like Chapron), to create in 27 months, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the DS.”
UPDATE — June 6, 2023: Sold for €210,000 ($225,000 USD). Here is a video of the auction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7fLXcXRm-g
He says in the video that he also built a wooden H-van, and at the end he says he is working on a wooden DS Chapron cabriolet.