“This is going in an Autosport Engineering supplement,” says Peter Thurston incredulously as he reveals his extraordinary Citroen 2CV8 racer, yet to turn a wheel. In place of a wheezing 602cc air-cooled flat-twin engine making a whopping 45bhp in racing trim sits a gruff 4.6-litre Rover V8. Even in mild tune, developing 280-300bhp, this powerplant should propel the circa 700kg bolide at a fair lick in a straight line.
“It’s anti-engineering really, something I’ve put together from parts lying around my workshop, purely for my own amusement,” he says. “Will it work? I don’t know, but I’ve always raced for fun and this is guaranteed to put a smile on spectators’ faces.” Societe Nationale des Escargots de Fer enthusiasts read on.
Peter Thurston Racing in Faversham, Kent, is one of Britain’s longest-established and best-respected classic Jaguar restoration specialists. The business dates back to 1992, but Thurston worked in his father’s garage long before setting it up.
“I have no formal engineering qualifications,” smiles Thurston, 61, “but I’ve spent my entire life playing with old cars, watching what skilled people do and learning from them. I had 30 working for me at one time. We’ve done cars for celebrities and prestigious film work, but I’ve always been a sucker for a project.”
The Citroen is the sum of three ideas; two that changed direction abruptly and a very competent kit car of which a few dozen may have been sold before the local enterprise hit the buffers, like so many in the industry, now in its 75th anniversary in Britain having been pioneered by Derek Buckler in 1949.
“A customer commissioned me to build a sort of Austin Seven Salamander replica, which looked old but had a modern engine,” explains Thurston. “As he wanted it to handle, I reckoned a [Lotus] Seven-esque chassis would be ideal.
“It was about half-done when I found an Austin Big Seven chassis with an identity and the plan altered [to use that]. I’d made the two-seater boat-tailed body from wood and aluminium, and the 1600cc Ford crossflow engine on twin Weber carbs is done, but the owner prioritised other cars so it’s on the back burner.
Source: Autosport