Last summer, Jacques Grelley of Arlington drove from Paris to Beijing in a tiny Citroen 2CV.

On Saturday, Mr. Grelley left Dallas for New York, ultimately for a flight to Paris, where he will pick up a restored 1957 D.B. Panhard racer that competed at LeMans three times between 1959 and 1961.

Mr. Grelley, a 72-year-old native of France and former professional driver, raced the 1,050-pound car twice and currently owns it. He plans to bring the car back to the United States for another summer challenge.

This year, he will drive the two-cylinder, 60-horsepower race car – which lacks roll-down windows or air-conditioning – from New York to California for the annual Concours d'Elegance car show. One other minor point: The car, which has been fitted with a speedometer and muffler for the drive, is one of a kind.

It won't be a sunny Sunday-afternoon cruise. Mr. Grelley plans to average 800 miles a day in the little car.

"The most difficult part of the journey will be getting out of New York," he said. "But we will show you don't need six or eight or even 12 cylinders to cross the country in four or five days."