Edited by Andrea Albertazzi / Photos by Etienne Musslin

Instagram – you know – can be a black hole. You can spend hours scrolling meaningless contents, but sometimes it happens the algorithm suggests a French guy who decided to cross Morocco with a ’55 Citroen Traction Avant. So you check his profile and be amazed in front of pictures of Martian-like landscapes. Bonus points come in the form of sharing such an epic adventure with his wife and daughter, but there’s more, since he runs a YouTube channel and a workshop called Garage 2CV, basically to be considered the 2CV place to be. So if you think you’re a boss because you reached your winter chalet in your Cayenne, be prepare to shuffle your beliefs.

What’s your name?

My name is Etienne Musslin and I’m 40 years old. My wife Agathe is 32 and our daughter Anouk is 6.

Where are you from and what do you usually drive?

I live in north east of France, in a village in the area of Mulhouse (Alsace), close to Switzerland and Germany.

Tell us something about “Garage 2CV”

Since I’m a kid, I’m fascinated by old Citroën cars and especially the 2CV. I’ve been in love with that car as far as I can remember and before I turned 18 I bought my first one. From there I bought a second one and slowly started to work on these cars. I had everything to learn as my father was not a mechanic and I had no friends interested in these old models. But bit by bit I learned how to work on them. I always dreamed about travelling, so as soon as I could I took my 2CV across France and then I went to the Scandinavian countries, east Europe and the likes. Basically – since I’m 20 – I leave for road trips every summer with one of my 2CVs. Anyway, I started writing and taking pictures about the 2CV at the same time and I became a journalist. I even owned my publishing company, we were publishing 2 magazines about the 2CV and I wrote some books as well. But after 15 years of doing this, I had enough of being too much in front of my computer and I created the Garage 2CV in summer 2021. Garage 2CV is a place where we can have a 2CV repaired of course, but it’s mostly a place where you can buy a 2CV. But I’m focusing on original condition, low milage cars. I’m not a big fan of restored 2CV. I like them when they’re authentic.

To you, what does freedom mean?

The possibility to go wherever you want ! Sleep in the wild, not knowing where we gonna stay the next night. The open road !

Do you share this passion with someone?

I have of course many friends with which I share the same passion for these authentic old Citroën. Some of these friends also like to travel, but I have to say I like to travel alone or with my family. I’m not a fan of these rallies, or organised raids. I want to be able to choose my own itinerary and stop whenever I want too. Because I like to take pictures, I stop very often, drive back or wait for the perfect light. We cannot do this when we travel as a group. And I think the feeling of adventure can only be felt when you travel on your own.

Do you think off the map road tripping is addictive?

Definitely yes. I cannot imagine another way to spend my summer than doing a road trip.

What has been the most incredible trip you’ve ever had so far?

The most adventurous one was in 2018. I bought a broken down 1970 Citroën Mehari in San Francisco, California with a friend of mine. We had 2 days to repair the car and 8 days to cross the USA and ship it to France. It’s been an incredible challenge as we were super short on time. We lived this trip as a race against time in a car that was doing just 80 km/h ! The Mehari didn’t have doors, we really were exposed to the elements and that was amazing to go across the deserts or the mountains like this. Fantastic memories.

We think your Traction Avant trip to Morocco is incredibly inspiring. How much work and preparation lies behind this trip?

Not much actually. With my wife Agathe we were looking for an idea in order to celebrate my 40^th birthday. I was really busy at work and I couldn’t really find the idea that would motivate me enough. Suddenly, in february, I had the idea to go to Morocco with my Traction Avant. I said to Agathe “I know what I want: taking pictures of my Traction in the desert!” The next day we bought the boat ticket. I own this car since 2019 and we drove it for our holidays every summer: Croatia, Bosnia and then in France only because of Covid. But the car was always maintained in a good driving condition. In february and march 2023, I bought some parts and did a quick check up on the car. I didn’t do much: a reinforcement of the front axle and a towing hook on the back in order to protect the fuel tank.

Is there a particular memory of this adventure you’d like to share with us?

I wanted to take some pictures of my car in front of the first dunes of the Sahara desert. So I was asking different travellers how to reach the dunes in the safest way. We got information on where to find a road that was going to the dunes. But that was not on our way and that didn’t feel adventurous enough. Finally in a campsite in Zagora, we met two german guys travelling in their Toyota Land Cruiser. They were travelling only off road and they had a hell of a equipment. They were so impressed by our car than they offered us to be our guides. The following day, we left the road in M’Hamid, where it stops and went straight into the desert. It was amazing. Terrifying as well: the sand, the heat, the wind… But thanks to our new friends, there was nothing to be scared of. When my car got stuck in the sand, we just pulled it off with one of their 4X4. And when it was too hot for the girls (my wife Agathe and our daughter Anouk), they went in one of the 4X4 that had air conditioning. The Traction Avant did very well, the two german off-roaders were very impressed actually. But of course, because it’s 5 meters long, with a huge wheelbase and only front wheel drive and 3 gears, the car had its limits and I got stuck sometimes. But what an experience. I took the best pictures that days. At some point, we met some other off-roaders: only single guys in Mercedes G-Class, Land Rover Defender and Toyota Land Cruiser. You should have seen their face when they saw us: a family driving a Traction Avant ! So funny…

What does make a trip with a vintage car more special than doing it with a modern one?

I have no interest at all for modern cars. I think they’re boring. Driving an old car is also the best way to live good experiences: you meet lots of people during your trips, you can take amazing pictures and enjoy so much to be behind the wheel. And if it breaks down, well you got some challenge. And challenge makes me feel alive!

Projects for some incoming escape already planned or in the making?

I definitely want to go back to Morocco. But I’d like to be able to enjoy a bit more the off-road travelling. I’m building a 4X4 2CV and when it will be ready, I will go testing it there for sure. I also have this idea to organise a road trip in Morocco only for 1950’s 2CV (425cc, 12hp, 80km/h maximum). That would be a bit different for me to be with other people, but that could be a nice opportunity to share the way I like to travel: taking the time, meeting people, enjoying the culture.My dream project is going off-roading in the USA with a 4X4 2CV: in Utah for example. But that would cost a lot of money.

Something more to say to our readers?

If my pictures are inspiring I can only encourage to do the same. You don’t need an organisation to travel: just be gentle with your car and it will make it, without problem. We only had a flat tire in Morocco, that’s it. But I always drive carefully and extra carefully when off-road. So drive slow, but drive far.