“ From the logos on the dials to the bespoke heater switches and richly painted dashboard, the Cévennes feels like a £50,000 car. PGO’s trick is to take the well proven PSA Peugeot-Citroen mechanicals and spend a whole chunk of money on that truly stunning body and deeply satisfying interior. The best news of all for sports car enthusiasts is that, as a consequence, the reliability and economy are those of a production car with the added benefit of very respectable performance. By using the same 1997cc engine you’d find in many PSA cars, but with considerably less weight to haul around, it will hit 60 mph from standstill in a very un-retro 6.8 seconds and continue to pull strongly right up to 134 mph.

Pushing on through familiar Cotswold roads it’s obvious that this car’s good looks are matched by a well sorted chassis. The mid engine configuration, just inches behind the driver, endows the car with great weight distribution. Modern tyre technology and suspension also ensure that the Cévennes demonstrates none of that tail happy wagging of early rear engined Porsches.

I can’t recall the last car I drove that created such a public stir. Crawling in town traffic pedestrians are duty bound to do those comedy double takes.

As my week with the car passed all too quickly I began behaving out of character. On Tuesday I washed the Cévennes, not in one of those automatic affairs you understand but actually washed it with a brush and chamois and stuff. Then on Sunday I seriously thought about hiding the car so that when the delivery driver came to collect it I could pretend I was out and keep it for a bit longer.”
Penny Mallory – former Rally Champion www.pennymallory.co.uk