The most beautiful French cars | GRR (2024)

Zagato A110 AGTZ Twin Tail

So, the Zagato A110 AGTZ Twin Tail's body is made in Italy, but the underpinnings are most definitely French meaning (and not without controversy) it qualifies to go on this list.

It’s a is a good thing it does though, because the AGTZ takes the idea of a junior exotic to an all-new level by draping its stunning longtail carbon-fibre body over the underpinnings of one of the best sports cars to come out of France. Up front, the Zagato looks more like a Le Mans racer than a roadgoing sports car, and its body stretches 200mm further than the standard sports car thanks to its streamliner rear end. The only problem? It'll cost £665,000 – or about ten times the price of a standard (and already very good) A110.

Citroën SM

Even today, the Citroën SM – with its encased headlights, recessed rear wheels and back end 8mm narrower than the front – looks like a car beamed down from space, so imagine the impact it made when it launched in 1970. Genuinely pretty? We're not 100 per cent sure about that, but it does look very French.

The space-age styling hid innovations aplenty, including headlights that moved with the steering, glass fibre wheels, dynamic steering, and disc brakes. Power came from a Maserati V6(Citroën owned the Italians at the time) that was good for a throaty burble and a top speed of 115mph. Combine all that with Citroën's trademark hydropneumatic suspension, and you had a 2+2 sports car that was as quick as it was comfortable.

S1 Peugeot 106 Rallye

More than anyone else, the French have a knack for building perfectly proportioned hot hatches, and the 106 Rallye is one of the best. By stripping the 106 of unnecessary appendages like fog lights and alloy wheels, then adding wheel arch extensions, gorgeous white-painted steel wheels and Peugeot Sport decals, the 106 Rallye has the feel of a budget Porsche GT3; no surprise that it was hom*ologated to go rallying.

The 106 drives much like it looks – simply but beautifully. Weighing just 825kg, the S1 feels featherweight darting into corners and is highly adjustable on the throttle, helped by the loud-speaker communication of its unassisted steering. Sure, the 1.3-litre engine produces just 100PS (77kW), but what it lacks in grunt, it makes up for with its hair-trigger responses, boundless enthusiasm and glorious induction growl.

Bugatti EB110

With its wedge shape, wide-body aero package, colossal wing and dished alloy wheels, the Bugatti EB110 looks as good as you'd expect of a 1990s supercar. Back then, the famous Bugatti grille was far more apologetic, but it meant there was plenty of space for headlights that looked like they were based on the ones found on the TGV French high-speed train.

While the Jaguar XJ220 was all about hitting crazy top speeds and the McLaren F1 focussed on driving purity, the Bugatti was a technical tour de force, with a quad-turbo 3.5-litre V12 sending its power to the road via four-wheel drive. That resulted in earth-shattering acceleration, with Autocar figuring the car at 0-60mph in 4.5 seconds, 0-100mph in 9.6 seconds and a top speed of 212mph. Although, as the magazine noted at the time, it was acceleration of 30-70mph in 3.3 seconds that really proved the car's welly.

Venturi 400GT

It's easy to see why the Venturi 400GT was nicknamed the French F40 when it went on sale in the mid-1990s. With its faired headlights, wide body, tiny glass house and massive rear wing, the Venturi was a silhouette of the Ferrari missing only finishing touches like the F40's NACA ducts and tail light grille.

Performance wasn't far off the Ferrari's, either. The 400GT used the same engine as found in the DeLorean DMC-12 but breathed on significantly with twin turbos, more than doubling the horsepower to 408PS (300kW), getting the car from 0-62mph in 4.1 seconds and on to a top speed of 180mph. Less than 20 roadgoing (there was also an owner race series) 400GTs are thought to exist, meaning this French fancy is significantly rarer than its more illustrious Italian cousin.

Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic

The Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic isn't just one of the prettiest cars ever built, it also laid down the foundation for cars like the Chiron we see today. The cars may be almost a century apart, but the 57SC's DNA is there to see in the Chiron's horseshoe grille and spine that runs from the front to the back of the car. The Chiron can't match the elegance of the 57SC that comes with being a 1930s classic.

While the 57SC – SC standing for 'lowered' and 'compressor' in French – won't get anywhere close to the performance of a modern Bugatti, its straight-eight supercharged engine was good for 200PS (150kW) and a top speed of 120mph, not bad for 1936.

Peugeot 205 GTI

The Peugeot 205 GTI's place in the Hot Hatch Hall of Fame is already guaranteed, but do we appreciate its style as much as we do its performance? Peugeot's ability to make a small, cheap hatchback desirable used to be a given, but then we endured cars like the 1007, 206, 207 and 3008. Instant forgettability is their only good quality.

By contrast, the 205 was perfect from its gruff front end to its pert rear. The GTI just enhanced the look with a muscly body kit, big wheels and lashings of red trim. It didn't just look good, it went well, too. Its 1.9-litre motor had plenty of punch and the GTI would wag its tail like a labrador, another lesson new Peugeots could learn from this old one.

Alpine A610

The Renault A610 wasn't a shouty sports car even in the 1990s when it went on sale, but fast forward 30 years, and it's even more subtle. Those in the know, though, know. The A610 is a French-built Porsche 911 beater with a turbocharged V6 good for 0-62mph in under six seconds and a top speed of 165mph.

The A610's sturdy backend and vents ahead of the rear wheels hint it’s rear-engined, while at the front you have a long nose and pop-up headlights. Like the 911, the Alpine was a 2+2, but – unlike the Porsche – it's also very rare, with less than 1,000 cars built. With the Alpine name on the resurgence, now might be a good time to get your hands on one.

Renault Avantime

Looking to take on the likes of the Mercedes E-Class and BMW 5 Series, Renault set to work building its own executive model following precisely none of the rules set by its German rivals. The result was a three-door, front-wheel drive, people-carrier-based coupé that did as well as you'd expect against cars like the fabulous BMW 528i.

Whether the Avantime is actually good-looking is up for debate, but with its upright van-like profile and pillarless door opening, it's certainly striking. The raised ride height and complex hinges of the front doors gave an air of luxury, but the big Renault couldn't touch the competition in terms of ride, handling, performance or build quality. Which explains why they’re so rare.

Renault 5 Turbo

The Bertone-styled Renault 5 Turbo is yet another hot hatch to feature on this list, but we reckon we've saved the best for last. In standard form, the Renault 5 was a good-looking car, but the Turbo was on steroids – from its menacing body kit to its huge arch kit, deliciously dished rear wheels and decals, it looked like a standard 5 that lived in a gym, sustained exclusively on protein shakes. Unbelievably, the interior was just as eye-catching thanks to its jarring (in a good way) blue and red upholstery, right angle steering wheel spokes and crazy sports seats.

Renault didn't do things by halves when it came to the oily bits, either. You'll find the 5's turbocharged motor where there used to be a rear seat – which explains the steamroller rear tyres and midship cooling ducts – and, long-throw shift aside, the driving experience is said to be just as endearing now as it was in 1980 when the car launched.

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