Some cars make an impression that never quite goes away. For me, the Citroën CX was one of them. I first fell for the car as a student in the 1970s, eventually owned one myself, and spent decades dreaming about finding the right CX again. What I didn’t know was that my ultimate dream car had been sitting in a barn all along when I went looking for one in 2016. The purchase led to a most unlikely reunion; a dream with a most unexpected story twist.
In 1979 I made a visit to Munich to stay with my mother’s penfriend who had given me my first ride in a Citroën DS back in 1975. By the time of my visit, my host had a new Citroën CX GTi and that made a lasting impression on a student who was yet to buy his first car. Spool forward to 1984 and the dream of one day owning a CX of my own hadn’t faded. We attended the Citroën Car Club’s Northern Rally that year and Alan Makepeace’s white GTi did nothing to diminish the desire. One day, maybe. It’s good to have aspirations…
Jump on to 1988 and the crash that killed my black Citroën BX GTi meant that I needed new wheels. It happened to coincide with an offer to join the Partnership of the consultancy I was working for and whilst that wouldn’t take effect until the beginning of ’89, a handshake with the Senior Partner was enough to increase my allowance so that a CX might just fall into the price range I could afford. After already having had three BX’s in the family I was ready for a change and made my way to our local Citroën dealer. I was well known at Murray+Whitaker as one of my responsibilities at work had been to buy cars for new recruits in our expanding business and I’d bought two or three cars from them already.
In those days big discounts were the norm, the question was how close you could get to the dealer’s 20% margin? I needed 20% off a base model Citroën CX to put it in my price bracket but I struck lucky. For the new ‘F’ registration starting 1st August 1988 Citroën was offering a special edition Series 2 CX called the Croisette which was a standard 22TRS base model but with the twin headlights and foglights from the top of the line CX Turbo, together with its special cloth interior trim, metallic silver paint and some natty pinstripes. It was a pity that it didn’t have a sunroof or alloys but it was a pretty attractive package and the dealer would let me have it at cost. In fact that left me enough to get an aftermarket sunroof – which all the CX owners I knew said was essential because the ventilation is atrocious.
F276 EAM was to serve me for 126,000 miles in the next four years. It wasn’t a Series 1 GTi and it wasn’t entirely without its issues but it was a CX! It wasn’t a ball of fire either but it was just what I needed at the time. My colleagues were all choosing Golf GTis or base model BMW 3 series but my wheels were much more relaxing. I’d developed a client base in Eastern England and 1000 mile weeks were not uncommon. At the end of a long day there was nothing quite like relaxing into the soft inviting driver’s seat and wafting home on a cloud of nitrogen and hydraulic fluid rather than simple steel springs.
As part of my invitation to join the Partnership the intention was that I should open a new branch office somewhere near Cambridge but even when that got going in Spring ’89 my business travel was hardly diminished. At weekends we’d meet up with friends who were scattered at the four corners of England so the mileage continued to pile on. We took trips to France too and the CX was our transport for the International Citroën Meeting in the Netherlands in summer 1989.
As the mileage wore on two regular faults reoccurred. If you closed the driver’s door with a slam and the window was down it would fall off its runners. The only way to fix it was to dismantle the door card. I got quite adept at that. The other was the failure of the nearside driveshaft whose bearings weren’t up to the job – or at least weren’t up to my habit of extracting 100% of the performance 100% of the time. I think we got through three sets but they weren’t Citroën parts – the Series 2 CX22 engine wasn’t the old iron block dating back to the time of the Traction Avant, it was the ‘Douvrin’ all-aluminium engine made jointly with Renault, and with a gearbox to match. I guess I should have figured there might be problems as the mileage piled on.
By summer 1991 the CX had well over 100,000 miles on the clock but with my wife Janice pregnant she decided she didn’t fancy driving our Citroën Ami to the World 2CV Meeting in Switzerland. We agreed it would be easier for her if we took the CX and went to Germany where we speak the language and always feel at home. We were doing about 100mph on the transit road to Berlin when the CX fell out of fifth and it wouldn’t re-engage, as if the gear had never been there. That was fine and we enjoyed exploring the City and the Eastern Sector in particular until suddenly the car stopped. I still don’t know what the malady was but auto electrics never were my thing. We got it fixed in a few days and resumed our tour but by the time we arrived in Dresden we only had 4th gear. Now we had a problem.
Although the Iron Curtain hadn’t long fallen there was a Citroën Agent in the hills to the north of Dresden and we managed to get the car there in a cloud of clutch smoke. They couldn’t fix it because it was a ‘Douvrin’ gearbox not a Citroën one so we continued our holiday in a series of rental cars whilst the CX was repatriated for a gearbox fix back in England. It wasn’t exactly unstressful and it was for that reason that I shortly after sold the CX and switched back to a BX until the stresses of recession meant that my time with the Partnership would necessarily come to an end.
The CX experience doesn’t finish there. Despite its fatal malady I carried my longing for a Series 1 CX GTi well into the 21st Century. Make another leap in time, this time to summer 2016 and Rob Moss of Chevronic Centre knew that I fancied a Series 1 CX. He had heard of a CX in a barn in Norfolk that if not rescued would likely be scrapped. It was a 200 mile round trip but we decided we’d go and have a look, it would be a nice day out if nothing else.
What we found was a ’79 CX 2400 GTi. The owner had once had ten classic cars but none of his three children had wanted the CX so it had sat in the barn for 19 years. Completely sunk on its suspension and up against a wall you couldn’t even slip a mobile phone underneath to inspect it but what we could see looked reasonably sound apart from a dent and the mildew. It was Janice who said that I’d regret it if I didn’t make an offer but what it would need to recommission it was beyond my guess. It was the dashboard that did it; I just love the design and wanted to see all the lights lit up…
On the assumption it would be more rather than less I made an offer and after settling on double what I first proposed it was mine – but with free delivery to Rob at his workshop. Three months later with new fuel and exhaust systems, a set of new tyres, the air conditioning refurbished and a good clean we went to collect it. As I drove home, Janice looked in the glovebox and out tumbled more paperwork than you could imagine, including the original bill of sale. I know that name, she said… Alan Makepeace. Not only had we bought a white CX 2400 GTi like the one I fancied in 1984, it turned out that we had bought GWX 171T, that very car!
By the power of social media Janice established that Alan would be happy to take a call and I spent a long time on the phone hearing the history of the car over its first twelve years; of high speed runs across France and how once the car was ten years old and eligible, his entry to the ‘Benson&Hedges’ concours in September 1989 where he won the North East Regional Final but lost out in the National Final to an E-Type Jaguar and an MGB. He explained that he had opted for air-conditioning even though it added 10% to the list price because he’d had it in his Citroën SM and liked it. The following summer we were able to reintroduce the car to him at a rally in Yorkshire before he passed away, by then in his 90’s.
Alan sold the car to Roger Bradford of the CX Centre in 1991. We knew Roger well although he had sadly passed away all too young. Roger was the consummate salesman; everything was for sale at the right price but he kept the car for 11 months so he must have really liked it, before trading it to Dr. Paul Whitney in 1992. Dr. Whitney covered a nominal mileage over the next three years before laying up the car and eventually parting with his wife, leaving it standing in the barn waiting patiently to discover its fate.
After recommissioning and the trip to meet Alan we were invited to show the car at the National Classic Car Show which takes place in Birmingham every November.
Following that Citroën UK borrowed it for display at their National Dealer Convention and it has featured in a number of classic car magazines including, in 2025, the celebration of the 5oth anniversary of the CX. It was also the subject of an article in a national newspaper which features cars that were once popular but are now almost extinct. DVLA records suggest there are only six 2400 GTi’s left in the UK, GWX 171T possibly being the only one with factory air-conditioning. That article led to an invitation to show the car at an event at Silverstone Circuit where a man passing by recognised the Jack Andrews dealer plate and introduced himself as Clive Andrews, son of Jack and the man who had done the pre-delivery inspection and serviced the car in its early years.
Whilst GWX 171T has a complete life story and remains original and unrestored, that’s not to say it’s a trailer queen. After the National Classic Car Show when so many were being packed into covered trailers we rolled out of the Exhibition Halls straight onto the motorway in the wet winter rain.
Even at 47 years young the CX remains just as it always has been, a brilliant car for fast long distance touring and we’ve ventured as far west to the south coast of Ireland and east to Poland and Czechia, almost to the border with Ukraine.
In fact it’s the car of choice for many journeys and I doubt it will be leaving our care any time soon, especially as it’s one of Janice’s favourites.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1982 Citroën CX Pallas IE – Hydropneumatifragilistic Pallasialidocious
Curbside Classic: 1984 Citroën CX Prestige – Stealth Spaceship
Curbside Find: 1985 Citroën CX 25 GTI – Even Better Than The Original
Cohort Classic: 1981 Citroën CX Pallas D – Modernism’s Last Stand
Car Show Classic: 1985 Citroën CX 25 GTi Series 2 – Blue Is A Warmer Color Than Grey, by Nigel R. Tate
Curbside Classic: 1987 Citroën CX 25 TRI Wagon – Longing For A Break
Vintage Review: Citroën CX 2500 Diesel Pallas
Car Show Outtake: 1982 Citroën CX 2400 GTi – Fuel Injected Flying Carpet
Vintage New Car Preview: Citroën CX – The New Big Citroën
CC Capsule: 1991 Citroën CX Evasion – Last Chance Wagoon
Car Show Capsule: 1983 Citroën CX Orphée by Deslandes – Hello Strangest
Cohort Outtake: 1983 Citroen CX24 IE Safari – Was This The Best Estate Car?
Such a stylish and enigmatic car. It doesn’t happen often enough that an idiosyncratic car also works and is perfectly fit for its purpose, but the CX is a great example of that. And it has a sort of unconventional beauty inside and out that makes interacting with it that much more special. Really cool to read about your experience with them.
To me one of the coolest dashboards of all time and also one of the nicest exteriors too, especially an early one like that with the narrow fenders.
What a story, quite the find in sourcing the exact same car you had seen decades prior!
Although the design was old by the mid 1980s, the CX was original enough to not seem obsolete and they still offered an impressive comfort. Arguably the last Citroen that could go head to head with the “premium” German manufacturers.
The father of a friend had a diesel Break and I recall they went camping with it, with the son actually sleeping in the cargo area with rear seat folded down – it was huge!
It was the updated model so had an ordinary dashboard
The find was entirely 100% accidental, I just fancied a series 1 CX and would have been happy with anything useable!
A car like this, with its own distinct style, is practically gold dust in today’s world of senseless SUVs.
In white and with those rims the Citroxy really looks great. Hats off!
Wow the CX is way my favourite Citroen, way ahead of the DS in my eyes. The first example is like the Lotus Esprit Turbo; the underlying shapes were so forward-thinking they assimilated the cladding well. But the white one has me in paroxysms of rapture; those faceted wheels and chrome bumpers against that shape is utterly, utterly sublime. A fantastic read, thank you
Agreed, about the CX over the DS, by a lot.
Another one here who greatly prefers the CX styling to the DS, even taking into account their respective ages. But I’m probably in the minority that finds the SM all-around ugly. And I always have, since it first came out.
I’m warming to the SM, but can’t really get past the side daylight opening, which dips at its base rather awkwardly. It’s front looks good, but reminds me of another reason I really rate the CX. Those trapezoidal lenses with small grille is a better face treatment than the SM, DS, GS and even the Pininfarina Austin forebears. It’s just that great.
Oh dear. Spoiler alert: just wait till next week!
What a great story! Glad you are using this lovely CX for the long distances it is suited to.
The spec of your car is bang on and the Robert Opron’s design still wows after all thse years.
Like a previous commenter, I prefer the CX to the DS. The CX has a place in my dream garage alongside another of Opron’s masterpieces, the GS.
This is the CX Holy Grail, at least in my eyes (and many others, obviously). I had a minor (long-distance) obsession with the CX from day one, but the Series 1 2400 GTi was where it peaked, with that amazing dash, those sublime wheels and the clean original styling elements. I can very much appreciate the later cars, but this is peak CX. Congratulations on snagging it and your care and use of it. It has certainly earned the accolades and publicity.
This exact car was sold in Australia as the 2500 – a lie, the engine was no bigger! – only in 1984-85, and only in limited numbers. God, did I want one. It’s the CX perfected, and just before the inept Series 2 encased it in shoddy plastic wrappings inside and out. And shoddy Renault gearboxes, it transpires.
It was compared locally to an Audi 100, also expensive and uncommon then, which was from the new era of aerodynamics. And by comparison, the Cit had considerably more wind noise, poor ventilation, worse economy, and a rougher engine. But I was struck by them saying words to the effect that whatever its faults, the occupants of one are in the most comfortable car in the world. I still want it.
In white, too, like that very test car. Robert Opron’s great work came out in 1974: Danish architect Jorn Utzon’s masterwork, the Sydney Opera House, opened about then, and I always associate the curves and sharp edges of each with the other. I really do think the car is that good.
My favourite building in the whole wide world, flawed though it would ultimately be. I definitely see the analogy in shape with Citroen, but more the rear quarter panel of the DS matching an orange skin section from Utzon’s moment of clarity.
Brilliant point about that rear guard, and seeable. (And quite agreed on the Opera House).
But that guard and the DS it’s from is from the ’50’s, and so were the original drawings by Utzon that won him the contract, and – whisper it – the eventual built object, forced by the engineering and that orange segment, is greatly better. The original is a brilliant work of its time: the other is, to this day, from the future perfect somewhere.
Analog clock and “digital” speedometer and tach. Different for the sake of being different – it’s French!
Did they sort out that hydraulic, leveling, issue by the “80’s?
They replaced it in the 90s with an electronic system but the self leveling always worked fine.
Yes, it was the electrification of it that caused the problems. Spolier alert: that’s why you won’t read here about any XMs
Probably my favourite spec too – regret I never got round to trying one. They are probably relevant to modern driving conditions, especially a C-matic.
I have a 1:18 die cast GTi in the launch metallic blue with the panda leather. No, it’s cow…
What a brilliant story and what a beautiful car. Barring some details, it would be hard to place its decade of design. Being in Canada, there were few to be seen although a couple of companies adapted them for US and Canadian regulations, but almost all the uglier face lifted version.
The only one I have ever ridden in was a pre-facelift CX Prestige that a carpenter friend of mine used as his work vehicle well over 20 years ago. Not a Break, just the LWB with the back seat removed but in spite of its tradesman work, Peter ensured it was always immaculate and had built an impressive contact list of specialist suppliers to keep it on the road. The magic carpet ride, even laden with lumber, was astonishing and the looks at the builders’ yard amidst a sea of pickups were priceless. I also recall it was very slow…I wish I had a picture.
Nice car very cool, very rare over here too but as Ive found out all Citroens are, Chevronics centre is the only place on this planet that stocks C6/5 suspension legs very helpful people., Ive driven and repaired hydropnuematics, like em too nice ride, simple system but have been driving hydra actives for 10 years now the first version was the fastest car thru the moose test and development didnt make them worse, no waiting for the engine driven pump to get them to ride height.
Yes, Rob Moss at Chevronics look after my cars – the things that are beyond my skills, patience or time. Rob pointed me in the direction of the CX
It’s gorgeous, every time I see a photo of one I wish I had one…
What a wonderful story and car. I am glad you got it. Those wheels are a perfect match for the car.
Having unexpectedly found and bought my ’89 Ford Sierra in 2014, 17 years after first spotting it curbside, I can completely relate to the delight and joy you felt upon realising it was the very one you’d fancied all those years ago! It’s an indescribable feeling isn’t it. Some things are meant to be, and when a car finds its person, that’s special!
What a great example, so rare with the a/c, and easily one of the most timeless car designs ever penned. Thanks for sharing your story Neil 🙂
Isn’t it just. I completely agree, as does Mrs O, some things fate decrees as meant to be
The CX is a continuation of the otherworldly spaceship era of Citroen design and all the cooler for it. The TV ad featuring Grace Jones is still aclassic
They were briefly sold in the US by CX Auto but I doubt they sold many. It would still be cool to have one, preferably alongside a Bitter SC for two late 80 oddities.
A nice story. Iove rhr SM but thr CX styling was better resolved. The Series 1 dash is interesting but my fantasy CX is.a Series 1 Break with a Series 2 dash (or a dashboard similar to the SM) , GTI Turbo running gear, alloys and whatever other improvements the Series 2 brought.
Has to be a Break as never sold in thr land of Oz. Only ever saw 2 private imports, a clangy diesel driving past with only seconds for me to witness and a few years later a different one at a French car show. A static example fir my unrushed viewing pleasure
Thr CX Break and the Triumph 2500 PI Mk2 Estate are my favourite unobtainium wagons….