1982 Renault 5 Parisienne 2

Owner: Péter Suha

Location: Budapest, Hungary

Year, Make, Model: 1982 Renault 5 Parisienne 2

Péter Suha of Hungary goes for his dreams: he began a community of vintage vehicle lovers on Facebook, and together the community helps each other create their dream vintage cars. Péter even has a motto: “Individual ideas and limitless opportunities in creating your fantastic vintage car!” He was also able to acquire the perfect Renault Parisienne for him, after years of searching and getting cheated out of the car he’d found, but Péter didn’t give up, and this ambition finally got him the car of his dreams.

Péter was in the market for a nice, special, budget-friendly car, a Renault 5, and it took him one-and-a-half years to find the right one: a brand-new 1982, Parisienne 2 limited-series Renault in tip-top shape with an 1100-cubic-meter motor and 130,000 kilometers on the odometer.

The car and owner, an elderly lady, were located 120 kilometers from Budapest, and Péter went to have a look. He arrived at the mechanic shop, where the owner stored the car, liked it immediately, and knew it was the one for him. The mechanic told Péter that there was only one problem: the documents had been left at the owner’s house, so Péter would have to wait a few days the mechanic could bring the car to Budapest. After three days, there had been no word from the mechanic, so Péter called him on the phone and said, “I can’t stand waiting. When can we get the car?”

The mechanic said he fell in love with the Renault and kept it for himself! It broke Péter’s heart, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it, so he kept on searching for a different Renault 5. One year later, nothing had turned up, so he called the mechanic again to ask after the Parisienne2. He said, “If you want it that much, I will sell it to you.”

So Péter finally got his Renault Parisienne, and today he loves it more than ever. He’s recently revived the car, and although technically it is perfect, the paint is 31 years old. Péter doesn’t want to change that, but he’s afraid of what the Hungarian winter will do to it, so the car will soon be receiving a fresh paint job.

Every Saturday Péter and his son drive to and from their family shop in Szentendre, which is 22 kilometers away from Budapest and sells vintage objects and artists’ design products. They look forward to this ride every week.

Photography by Leo Pinter

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