You hardly ever see them lately, but they used to drive around a lot. The Simca 1000 has the shape that a child draws, simple and angular. It also has cute eyes, a cuddly little car, all in all.

An original Dutch one is even more scarce. This 1000 GLS Automatique has a semi-automatic gearbox. You can choose 4 options: reverse, Ville and Route for normal work and Exceptionelle for when you have to climb a steep slope (or want to win at a very short traffic light sprint). As soon as you touch the lever, it disengages and you can shift.

There is a jack and spare wheel in the front, but I recommend putting a little more weight in it. My father’s Simca drove a lot better with it. In fact, it turned into a fun go-kart.

The metallic gold paint is heavily weathered and the later sprayed parts have less of that: that results in intriguing pattern. It has some rust in a few spots, but nothing that should spoil the MOT fun.

It starts and drives, but some maintenance is welcome. Hence this price. We may not be able to restrain ourselves in the coming weeks, we might tinker with it ourselves and drive it a bit. Then the price rises. So wait for your chance or grab it now. (And don’t secretly make a Rallye version of it, eh).