A photo like this one makes me miss my poor old Xantia Activa, a car that through no fault of mine has long since ceased to be.

Yes, the mad rare performance version of Citroën’s last good-looking medium-sized saloon. Loads of grip and little roll until it had enough and gave up with no warning – much like French public sector workers on strike. The only down-side was an ancient 2-litre 8-valve with a low-pressure turbo.

Now I do know that in France they sold a V6 Activa. Hmmm…