— It took carpenter Michel Robillard more than 5,000 hours over five years to build a wooden copy of a vintage Citroen 2CV. On Sunday, he sold it for a whopping $224,440.
French cabinetmaker Michel Robillard shows the details of his handbuilt wooden Citroen 2CV car, built as an exact replica, March 20, 2017, near Loches, France.For his labor of love, cabinetmaker Robillard, 74, used wood from fruit trees to build the one-of-a-kind car. The main body is made from apple and pear, the front and back are in walnut and the base for the doors and trunk is made of cherry wood.
It was the first time a functioning wooden car came up for auction — rarity that likely helped drive up the price. It had a presale estimated value of between $160,000 and $214,000, but the bidding soon drove on by that figure, breaking the previous record for a 2CV sale of $184,000 — and that one was a normal, metal car.