Urbex: old French cars abandoned in Normandy

You have probably heard of urban exploration, or Urbex. This practice of visit disused, abandoned places overnight by their owner. Castles, garages, hospitals, churches and factories once promised a good life, these are sometimes historic buildings that find themselves in the most total decadence. No heir, inheritance problem, lack of interest of the family for the place, bankruptcy… The reasons which can push the Man to leave behind these buildings, these vehicles and these memories are at least diverse. Through their photos and stories, these explorers tell us the history of the place, and make us live their atmosphere, their silence and their smells, Sometimes. There are places that are particularly interesting, for the amateurs that we are, these are those containing old cars…

The barn of wonders

In a garage or garden, under an awning or tarpaulin. We hear anecdotes almost every day of visitors who have had the surprise of coming across old models. Outdated, rusty and sometimes in very bad shape. The tour we offer you today is that of a rickety and tired barn located in Normandy. Behind its stone walls and under its tin roofs hides a small collection of abandoned cars, french for the most part… All of them have in common that they are extremely tired. Ravaged by time and bad weather. They are also rather nondescript models. Which did not shine by their particularly sensual line or their advanced technology. All-purpose modelswho provide efficient service.

A small concentrate of France

Among the oldest, there are two competing vans at the time. THE Renault Goélette and Peugeot D3/D4. We nicknamed the latter “pig’s nose” because of its characteristic grille… We also find in the lot a Renault 4 and a Renault 14 (” the pear “). But also two Simca Ariane and an Peugeot 104. For the record, the Ariane was released after the Suez Canal crisis in a context of exploding fuel prices. Simca had grafted the small 4-cylinder block of the Aronde into a body of Vedette. To replace its gas guzzling V8 engine. The “economical” Ariane was born, and met with great success!

The only foreign models that are in the game are a Mercedes W110 (the ancestor of the E-Class), and a FSO Polonaise. This replaced the Fiat 125p, to become THE mass-produced Polish car! Very well hidden, all these old models wait patiently in this dilapidated barnhoping to get out and restart one day…

Photo sources: No Man’s Land-Urbex

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