1976 Axone 1600 FL

Jacky Bonnot, Axone 1600 FL, Course de Cote du Mont Dore VHC 2016.

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Axone Compétition, Bourgogne, France.  The car is the work of Chantal and Jacques Bonnot and their friends in l'Abergement Ste Colombe .   The first Axones were produced around 1972.   I believe two Axone 1600s were built in 1975/1976.  All seem to have been used mainly for French hillclimbing as they are Formula Libre cars. They have tubular chassis with 1.6L Renault Gordini engines and a Hewland gearbox.  Top speed is 220kph.

1973 Jidé 1600

Jidé 1600,  Tour Auto 2015

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Jidé, Châtillon sur Thouet, France.  Founded by Jacques Durand, who also later founder Scora, this marque existed from 1969 to 1973. They made one Coupé, that was originally powered by a Gordini R8 engine.  They had polyester bodies and were sold as either kit cars or fully constructed. Intended as a smaller alternative to the A110, about 130 were produced.   Its most famous driver was Jean Ragnotti who drove one in the Criterium de Cévennes Rally in which he finished seventh..  In 1969 an early Jidé competed in the Tour de France Automobile but did not finish.  in 1973 a Jidé finished second in the Spanish Costa del Sol Rally. Wins came in a number of French National Rallies including the 1972 Rallye du Poitou and the 1973 Ronde Limousin when driven by Henri Rimaudière.  Nowadays, these cars are quite rare but are still regularly spotted in historic rally events.

Ford Escort RS1600 Mk1

Two Ford Ecort Mk1s battle it out at Dijon-Prenois, 2015 GP del'Age d'Or. An RS 1600 chases an RS2000.

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Ford, Aveley Essex, England. The Ford Escort Mk1 was introduced in 1968.  In 1970 Ford introduced the Escort RS1600 with a Cosworth tuned 1,600cc 16 valve twin cam BDA engine.  This gave the Escort a power to weight ratio that enabled it to compete successfully in touring car racing and rallying with its already good handling. The top speed was over 110 mph and the 0-60mph time was under 9 seconds for the road version. Over the years the size of the engine progressed up to 2 litres and thus some cars became known as the RS1800 and RS2000.  Wins on tarmac included Jochen Mass and John Fitzpatrick's win in 1971 in the European Touring Car Championship event at Jarama but many other podiums and class victories were scored.  In rallying they were even more successful.  Roger Clark won the 1972 RAC rally in an RS1600.  Timo Makinen won the RAC Rally in 1973 and 1974 and the 1,000 Lakes in 1973 driving an RS 1600.

Citroen C2 VTS

Pascal leclamus/Anthony Bourgeas, Citroen C2 VTS, Rallye National de la Côte Fleurie.

Citroen, Aulnay, France.   The C2 was a supermini made from 2003 to 2009. The VTS was the top sports version of the C2.  The VTS had a 1.6 litre engine.  It had a  performance of 0-60mph in 8.0 secs and a top speed of 125mph.  The C2 S1600 rally car was a successful rally car in the hands of Sebastien Loeb and others.  Pascal Leclamus and Anthony Bourgeas finished a creditable 25th in the 2016 Rallye National de la Côte Fleurie.