2008 Paris Auto Show Wrap-up: Hermès Version of Citroën's Classic 2CV Celebrates the Car's 60th Birthday

PARIS — Only a few years after the end of World War II, the French got their version of the Model T or the Volkswagen Beetle: the Citroën 2CV. To celebrate the car's 60th anniversary, Citroën displayed a tasteful designer version at the 2008 Paris Auto Show "dressed" by leather-goods specialist Hermès.

The Hermès workshop, a "great name in luxury" that symbolizes the fashion side of French culture, has outfitted the downmarket 2CV with leather just about everywhere. The door handles, the sunshade, the bench-style seating and even the mirrors get buttery soft leather. The fabric roof, interior and seats are trimmed in signature Hermès canvas-style fabric.

Citroën soberly notes in its commentary about the car's 60th anniversary that the standard for developing a new car has changed. Back in '48, the automaker says, the standard was to be able to "cross a field with a basket of eggs on the car's seat without breaking any." Today, it's "to be usable while consuming as little as possible and respecting the environment."

Inside Line says: Across the generations and price points, those French have style, and always will. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent