The initial 1930s design brief for the 2CV was a straightforward one: an umbrella on four wheels that would allow rural types to transport 100kg of goods to market at 37mph while wearing clogs. A full length rollback canvas roof was for long loads and soft suspension famously allowed the car to transport a basket of eggs a ploughed field unbroken. With the prototypes hidden during WW2, the 2CV was finally revealed at the 1948 Paris Auto Salon to less than critical acclaim. However within months there was a five year waiting list for the car and over the next 42 years nearly four million would be built.

With all the recent advances in technology, it may seem surprising that a car that ceased production 14 years ago should still be mentioned in virtually every hot hatch group test but the 205GTI has become a legend well beyond its own lifetime. The basic ingredients were spot on from the start, a great Pininfarina designed body covering fully independent Macpherson strut and torsion beam suspension. Add either a 105bhp 1.6-litre or 128bhp 1.9-litre engine and the result was a car that was as rewarding to drive and could cover ground as quickly as any contemporary supercar. Just beware of the notorious lift-off oversteer.

Like the 205, the R5 was a runner-up in the European Car of the Year competition but one which is held in far greater affection than the winner, the Audi 80. Introduced in 1972, Renault's first supermini borrowed heavily from the decade old Renault 4 but successfully updated it with a good looking hatchback design by Michel Boue. Engines ranged from 0.8-litres to 1.4-litres and early cars had a dashboard mounted gearlever. The car even spawned a fearsome mid-engined, rear-wheel drive Group B rally version which won the 1978 Monte Carlo Rally. In all, 5.5 million R5s were made before it was replaced with a virtually identical second generation model in 1985.

Now here is a car with a truly remarkable lifespan. Introduced by Peugeot in 1968, it is still available new in Kenya today. For once a worthy European Car of the Year winner, the 504 has actually found itself the champion of Africa, being pressed into service from Cairo to Cape Town. More than three million examples of this handsomely styled car were built in Europe in saloon, coupé, convertible and estate before production moved to Nigeria and Kenya. The keys to its success is its simplicity thanks to unstressed four-cylinder engines, strong suspension able to cope with unmade roads and simple, proven mechanicals that can be fixed with ease.

Viewed by some as France's answer to the Porsche 911, the A110 shared that car's rear-engined, rear-wheel drive layout and similarly used humble underpinnings. Where the 911 can trace its ancestry to the VW Beetle, the A110 was based on Renault 8 components bolted to a steel backbone chassis and cloaked in glass-fibre bodywork. Replacing the ancient R8 engine with an alloy unit from the Renault 16 gave the car genuine 130mph performance. Renault bought out the Alpine company in 1973 and decided to use the A110 to compete in the newly created World Rally Championship which it duly won.

Actually we aren't talking about a single model here, but what was the largest car manufacturer in the world in 1900, turning out 400 cars and 3,200 engines. The company was started in 1883 manufacturing boilers for small boats, an example of which they fitted to a quadricycle. An 1184 example, La Marquise, is still in existence and regularly takes part in the London to Brighton veteran car run. By 1893 the company had decided that the future lay in internal combustion rather than steam and built a single-cylinder engine featuring electric ignition and an unheard of rev limit of 3,000rpm. Sadly the company stagnated after WW1, ceasing passenger car production in 1932.

Citroen has always had a reputation for idiosyncrasy, which has allowed it to produce some cars that will remain as objects of desire and admiration forever but there was a time in recent years when the company appeared to have lost its way. Under the stewardship of Peugeot, the cars became little more than reskinned examples of the former's products. Happily, that all changed with the introduction of the C6 a couple of years ago. Suddenly there was a distinctive, desirable alternative to the mainstream German executive cars. As well as being wrapped in one of the best looking saloon car bodies ever, the C6 also majors on the traditional Citroen virtues of innovation, comfort and relaxation.

Ettore Bugatti may have been born in Italy but it was in Molsheim, in the Alsace region of France that he set up shop to produce cars with an attention to detail that bordered on obsessive - engine blocks were hand finished for a fit so tight that no gaskets were needed. The most famous of all were the Type 35 Grand Prix cars introduced in 1924. Powered by a 2.0-litre straight-eight which revved to 6,000rpm and produced 90bhp, the Type 35 featured solid axles and leaf springs front and rear with cable operated drum brakes at the back. Amazingly successful, the 35 won more than 1,000 races, five consecutive Targa Florios and at its height was averaging 14 victories per week.

Introduced in 1993, to celebrate the previous year's Formula One World Championships victory for the Williams Renault team, the Clio Williams was limited to just 400 right-hand drive examples, each carrying a numbered plaque. Based loosely around the Clio 16V hot hatch, the Williams used a larger 150bhp 2.0-litre engine, in place of the 137bhp 1.9-litre plus a wider front track, bespoke exhaust and improved suspension to produce one of the finest hot hatches of its day. All the cars were finished in the same shade of dark blue with gold wheels. However much to the dismay of owners of the original cars, Renault later decided to release a further two Clio Williams series.