Specialist of the week
Mark Waghorn Racing

Next time you see a Citroen 2CV in your rear-view mirror don't dismiss it as a slow, eccentric French car icon: it could be a rather Quick, special version hand-built by London's 2CV king, Mark Waghorn.

Waghorn, 40, has been building, servicing, repairing and, indeed, racing 2CVS since the age of 16 when he went to work in the Citroen garage set up in the late 1950S by his father, John.

The business evolved into a full-blown Citroen dealership which, in 1994, became Waghorn Racing, specialising in the frugal French runabouts with the pogo stick suspension which have achieved cult status the world over.

Just a decade ago, a battle-scarred but healthy 2CV (or its more substantial cousin, the Dyane) could be picked up for a couple of hundred pounds -not bad for a go- anywhere ragtop which will cruise all day at 70mph, return 45mpg and costs peanuts to Insure.

Now, however, many of those once impecunious students who saw the cheap- to-run 2CV as their way out of the campus have become high-fliers with money to spend on one of Waghorn's wonders: fully sorted 2CVs with price tags of up to £5,000.

"The people who had 2CVs as cheap runabouts at university often could not
afford to maintain them properly. Now they have some spare money they want to relive the good times with a cherished example.

We do everything from a full service, which costs £110, to a ground-up restoration which includes fitting a galvanised, rust-resistant chassis.
"Rust is one of the 2CV'S main enemies - another common problem stems from
driving them too far, too fast in reverse which can damage the gearbox," said Waghorn.

One hard-driving owner took his 2CV from London to Algeria and back between
services; another had race suspension and a tuned engine fitted to liven up his daily commute along the A3; and four Australian tourists were so taken with one of Waghorn's restorations that they bought it to take home as a souvenir.

No amount of money will buy the Barboit Special, however, Waghorn's personal
replica of a 1953 2CV speed car which set no fewer than nine world records in its heyday. Based on a 1983 model, It has no roof or windscreen and Is good for 100 mph.

As Waghorn points out: all 2CVs are faster than Porsches and Ferraris -over the speed bumps, at least.

Simon de Burton