O, to be in sunny England, on a bright and breezy summer’s day… with the clattering cacophony of flat-twins whirring up hills and sleek aerodynamic shapes resting on the grass? Welcome to Harrogate, in Yorkshire, where the 15th International Citroën Car Club Rally (ICCCR) took place in August 2012. This part will only focus on “normal” production Citroën cars – weirder and older cars will come in Part 2. There are a lot of photos, but I will start from the beginning: getting there.
‘Twas A Ferry Nice Trip
The ICCCR takes place every four years in a different country, usually in Europe. I had been to the Rome and Interlaken meets (2008 and 2004, respectively) prior to this British edition. I was going there with my brother in his unrestored 1954 Traction 11B (above), from our rendezvous in Lyon all the way up to Belgium. That trip took two days: pre-1955 11s have a less powerful 2-litre engine, plus this B model uses the bigger, wider and heavier monocoque, so the effective top speed is just over 100 kph. After having visited a bit of Brussels and Bruges, we drove to Zeebrugge to take the car-ferry to Hull, which is an overnighter (about 14 hrs).
By the time we were queuing for the ferry, the traffic was thick with classic Citroëns, mostly from France, Benelux, Switzerland and Germany. Some folks like to haul a lot of camping gear and perhaps enough bits to keep the car going no matter what. Cool trailer, though.
However, nothing beats a DS wagon for long-haul holiday traveling. Except maybe a long-wheelbase CX?
Oh yeah… that’s the ultimate road Citroën in many ways. The CX Prestige gave supreme comfort and much better reliability than the SM; the ancient (yet fuel-injected) 2.4 litre pushrod four it received from the DS was still able to get this big car to a 180 kph cruising speed, with its leather lounge chairs floating on a cloud. To drive, ride in front or in the rear, this is probably the pinnacle of the big Citroëns. And this is a series 1 (1978-84), which means it also looks damn good. A bit late in the game, but a most honourable mention, I should think, in the Euro-Brougham category.
There is always a bit of a jam when entering the UK by ferry in a smaller port like Hull. Interesting traffic that day…
Tractions and Flat-Twins
The main ICCCR event took place over three days, though some folks do come earlier and make it a camping trip. My brother and I were keener to experience an English B&B. It seems a number of the 750,000 Tractions made from 1934 to 1957 are still very much in action. Post-war 4-cyl. saloons are of course the most common.
The 2CV (1949-1990) was Citroën’s idiosyncratic solution to the problem of the low-cost car. A bizarre mix of equal part highly advanced engineering and retrograde / cheapskate mentality. All the bits exist – you can even buy a completely new chassis, if need be.
The 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only featured a famous Rémi Julienne car chase with Roger Moore piloting a (GS-powered) yellow 2CV 6 Club successfully escaping from a pair of Peugeots. Citroën jumped at the idea and issued a limited run “007” 2CV, complete with bullet-hole stickers. Peugeot, on the other hand, soon retired the 504 from the European and US markets. Coincidence? You be the judge.
Displayed indoors by the British Citroën Car Club, this 1959 2CV pick-up was made by Citroën’s UK branch in Slough. The 2CV was an abysmal failure throughout the ‘50s in the British market. Sales were halted and Slough was eventually closed down; the 2CV made a comeback on British roads in the ’70s and ’80s, but those were imported from France. Slough-built survivors are extremely rare, especially utes.
But perhaps not quite as rare as this, the 1959-64 Citroën Bijou. Based on a 2CV chassis but clad with a novel fiberglass coupé body. Citroën UK were desperate to get rid of their flat-twin stocks. 2CV sales were so bad that they tried selling this instead. It was a total failure (210 units made), but had the distinction of being a UK-only model – an original British Citroën creation.
But in terms of weird, the Bijou soon met its master in the 1961-69 Ami 6. This is a late model, one of the last saloons made with this rather jarring reverse-canted rear window that graced a few cars on either side of the Atlantic in the ‘50s and ‘60s. The much more conventional-looking wagon, which debuted in 1965, was Robert Opron’s first design job for Citroën.
Soon after, Opron was asked to touch up the Ami and make it a bit less outlandish. Thus the Ami 8 (1969-1978) was created, to carry the torch of the “3CV” into the ‘70s. The Ami’s 600cc twin soon migrated to the whole range of small Citroëns, including some pretty bad ones.
Peugeot’s takeover of Citroën in 1974-75 resulted in the end of the GS Birotor, the SM, the Ami Super and the (expected) demise of the DS. And in return, this happened. The LN (1976-79, later re-worked as the LNA) was the unfortunate bundle of misery that the shotgun wedding with Peugeot had produced. A Peugeot 104 hatchback body mated with the Ami 8’s flat-twin. And in hearing aid beige, if you please! The “Escargot Pouvoir” sticker is a nice touch.
Finally, the Visa (1978-1988), which got a revised and slightly bigger (650cc!) flat-twin (or a Peugeot water-cooled 4cyl.) and used the 104 saloon’s larger platform. But it also had looks only Stevie Wonder could love. The revised second series, on the right, managed to salvage the project and helped Citroën to transition out of the air-cooled flat-twin monoculture they had been stuck in for three decades.
The hydropneumatic cars: DS, SM, GS, CX, etc.
The first model sold to the public featuring Citroën’s revolutionary hydropneumatic (or more correctly oleopneumatic) suspension was the 1954 Traction Avant 15-Six H. Only the rear wheels had the new suspension. By October 1955, the DS came on the scene with the hydro suspension on all four wheels.
Early cars like this one (pre-1960) have a unique presence, and usually interesting colours. Plus the interior and dashboard of these is absolutely incredible.
A Slough-built example from the mid-‘60s. The mandated license plate frame could perhaps have been a bit less “on the nose.”
1967 is a particularly sought-after model year for DS cognoscenti. That year ushered a completely revised hydropneumatic system, which worked much better than the earlier one. It is possible to change an old “red liquid” DS into a 2nd gen “green liquid” one, but it’s a tedious operation. So if you want a usable DS with the original front end, your only choice is a ’67 model.
The DS remains a fixture of Citroën-mania. It’s not my personal favourite, but it does embody a lot of the Citroën spirit. And some of the special versions (which we’ll see in part 2) are also pretty unique.
Make way, peasants, for Sa Majesté la SM. The only Citroën with a Maserati heart. If it stops beating, you bank account will suffer. C’est la vie. The cute little 1939 Traction cabriolet next to it looks like a dinosaur, yet only 30-odd years separate the two.
The SM is a strong contender for the most beautiful post-war Citroën and/or best-looking ‘70s coupé. At least from the front and side. The rear end was, alas, the object of a lot of compromise.
Way too heavy-handed with the chrome, plus that stupid license plate housing just sitting there, void of purpose… The real deal for the Opron / Citroën era? Not the SM – the CX.
The CX still has a lot of Citroën DNA to it – same petrol engines as the DS (themselves descended from the Traction’s 2-litre), but also a Peugeot Diesel to live with the times. As a wagon, it was reputed to be the most capacious in Europe at the time (1975).
Early base models like this pre-1979 CX 2000 Super were made according to Robert Opron’s dictum: strictly no side trim. Pretty hard to fault the styling. Ride-wise and looks-wise, nothing beats a ‘70s CX.
Then he left to work for Renault and Citroën were free to clutter the design with plastic, rubber inserts and fog lamps… Still, this is a GTI, and with that colour, I had to include it.
Just as I couldn’t pass up this 1978 GS Basalte. Citroën threw a bunch of optional extras together (fog lamps, tinted windows, bespoke interior trim, sunroof, etc.) and added red adhesive stripes to the black car. This was the only special edition GS – 1800 were sold, rather quickly, too. This car also sports the rear widow “jalousies,” an aftermarket item also popular on other Citroëns, which fits the Basalte theme rather well.
The BX (1982-1994) is already very much in the crosshairs of Dutch Citroën collectors. But they did make over 2 million, so prices are still dirt cheap. The Diesel cars are alleged to be nigh on indestructible – not an epithet commonly associated with Citroën. The same could be said about the XM (1990-2000), which there were plenty, but these are definitely my least favourite big hydro car (on looks alone – they’re very nice cars to be in otherwise).
You know what the XM is greatest at? Hauling an extremely rare Deadly Sin-certified 1974 GS Birotor onto a ferry. Now that is the XM’s true calling, for the next couple of decades at least.
A few C6s showed up too – the car was moribund by then (production finally stopped in December 2012) and everybody knew it. The last Citroëns with the hydro suspension were made in June 2017. Big hydro Citros are no more. As is this post. Tomorrow in part 2: pre-war, special-bodied, prototype and other miscellaneous Citroëns, as well as a few non-chevroned cars.
Related posts:
Automotive History: The Citroën 15-Six – Traction Royalty Genealogy 101, by T87
Curbside Classic: 1969 Citroën 2CV – The Most Original Car Ever, by PN
Automotive History Capsule: Citroën Bijou: World’s Slowest Hardtop?, by PN
Curbside Classic: Citroën Ami 8 Break – Meet My Ugly Little French Friend, by PN
Curbside Classic: 1986 Citroën Visa 11E – A Different Type Of Citroën, A Different Type Of Supermini, by Roger Carr
Curbside Classic: Citroën ID – The Goddess Storms The Bastille Of Convention, by Roger Carr
Curbside Classic: 1972 Citroën SM – Gran Touring, Franco-Italian Style, by Tom Klockau
Cohort Classic: Citroën GS – One For The Anoraks, by Perry Shoar
Automotive History: Three French Deadly Sins (Part 3) – Citroën GS Birotor, by T87
Cohort Classic: 1981 Citroën CX Pallas D – Modernism’s Last Stand, by Perry Shoar
Cohort Sighting: Citroën BX – Fastback Meets Squareback, by PN
Cohort Classic: Citroën XM – Its Three Predecessors were Hard Acts to Follow, by PN
Curbside Classic: 2006-12 Citroën C6 – Classic French Luxury For The 21st Century, by William Stopford
Magnifique! Citroen heaven. Glad you’re sharing these with us, even 6 years later (as if it mattered).
Two minor points:
Citroën jumped at the idea and issued a limited run “007” 2CV, complete with bullet-hole stickers. Peugeot, on the other hand, soon retired the 504 from the European and US markets. Coincidence? You be the judge.
Ok, I will. The 504 was simply replaced by the 505 in the US market when it came out. Actually, the 504 Break stayed around for another year or two, since the 505 wagon didn’t come along right away. I realize in Europe the 504 continued to be sold as a cheaper low-trim alternative, but that’s not appropriate for the US market.
The CX still has a lot of Citroën DNA to it – same petrol engines as the DS (themselves descended from the Traction’s 2-litre), but also a Peugeot Diesel to live with the times. As a wagon, it was reputed to be the most capacious in Europe at the time (1975).
To my knowledge, the Citroen diesel four used in the CX was not a Peugeot engine, but a Citroen design/engine. I would have to do a bit of digging to confirm this.
Update: they are totally different engines. The Citroen diesel four is a development of the gas four. The original 2.2L version had the same bore and stroke as the gas 2.2. The diesel was first used in Citroen’s 1975 C35 van.
Hehe… you bit at my (absurd) 504 conspiracy theory. The saloon stayed in Peugeot’s European range until 1983 – it was 15 years old by then. Time to switch to the 505 (launched in ’79), regardless of James Bond’s 2cv…
Bestowing the CX Diesel with unwarranted Peugeot roots was plain wrong, as you pointed out: that 2.5l Diesel is a Citroën creation, based on the D engine. But Peugeot engines did find their way under the CX’s hood. The Douvrin 2-litre replaced the Citroen pushed four as the base CX petrol engine in 1979. Citroënistes call it “the Renault engine” (Renault being Peugeot’s partner in making the Douvrin engines, be the 4 or 6cyl).
Love em, I’m currently touring NZ’s southern island in a Citroen naturally but a C5 sedan/hatchback HDI diesel manual trans its comfortable quiet and just eats up the kilometers using a little over 6.5L/100 kms, mines hydra active and that works just fine tuning itself to the pavement conditions, 3 degrees currently here in Christchurch I’m heading south to visit the reknowned Transport World truck and motorcycle museum in Invercargill if the roads remain open with all the snow about.
A colleague of mine owns both a 2001 Xsara VTR 2.0 HDi *AND* a 2011 C5 Tourer Exclusive 2.0 HDI, he loves Citroën with a passion and won’t trade them for anything else
A mate of mine drove my Xsara for 3 months, wont buy anything else now just parked his Xantia up and bought a C4 1600 diesel manual he gave me a turn in it real nice car to drive.
The 1.6 is a lovely engine. Used to drive a 2016 Peugeot Partner with the 100cv version. Man, that thing goes like stink for a cargo van
This was parked outside a Paris restaurant last week… it’s for sale and looks great!
I’ve never seen a raised roof on a DS wagon before; I’m assuming factory?
So right about the side trim on the CX, but that orange one is definitely worth featuring for that colour. Great selection T87
That DS wagon looks to be an ambulance. I’m not sure, but I doubt they built them in the factory like that.
I echo Paul’s judgment on that DS Break. Definitely a reconditioned ambulance, not a factory conversion.
What goes for the CX’s sides also goes for the DS, GS and SM. No trim is *always* preferable. The SM never had any trim from the factory, but I have seen SMs with added plastic strips – a travesty! Some folks don’t deserve the cars they drive…
Gentlemen, thank you. Scurrying down the search hole revealed this; not a raised roof version, but I think only applicable for dismembered giant broken legs.
I agree that the CX is a wonderful piece of design,preferably without side trim, but after a few years of other folk opening their doors against it you’d wish it did have side trim.
The DS cabrio in the lead picture is stunning. I’ve seen the sedan and wagon over the years, but wasn’t aware of the cabrio. It’s apparently very rare, something less than 100 per year sold over its 15 year manufacturing run.
The ID/DS cabriolet was the most expensive model in the range. It was introduced in 1961 and made more or less by hand by H. Chapron for 10 years.
They are very rare, though not quite as rare as the “proper” Chapron specials. Quite a few saloons have been converted into cabriolets, as the latter’s overinflated value took it out of many collector’s reach. This gray post-67 one seems like the genuine article though, compared to some atrocities I’ve seen. The same thing happens with Traction convertibles, which are also rare and very expensive.
Chapron is documented having made a few extra DS convertibles for private individuals until the early ’80s. One could bring one’s used DS to his shop and give it a chop. The transformation cost more than a new CX.
Jack Casady of the Jefferson Airplane had one. It was dark green if I remember correctly.
The ID/DS cabrio is the definition of the sublime to the ridiculous, quite sublime roof down, and quite ridiculous with it up, where it looks as if some foolhardy soul pitched a tent on a shark.
If ever there was a foreign,( I’m in the U.S.), car that could give Detroit a run for its money in the unique styling dept. in the modern age, it would have to be Citroën.
The hydro cars, especially the CX and the XM, could also compete with Detroit in terms of ride comfort, but trounced the Big 3 in terms of handling and interior space. Find one with a spicier engine (e.g. CX GTI or XM V6) and you get a pretty incredible package.
Wow, what a great selection, thank you for sharing them. I’ve done that ferry trip the other way around as I have family in/from Hull, it’s a long 14 hours as those aren’t (or weren’t) the newest ships in the fleet.
I love the orange GTI, always nice to see a serious car in a somewhat absurd but very fun color by modern standards. It would fit well in the garage of an Eichler house perhaps, next to an NSU Ro80 in similar hue.
I’m partial to that Visa. Cute as a button, and no frills except basics. I question how “cute” it is to live with? Outside of that dubious choice, the orange CX GTi is by far and away a shocker to me. Ugly is good when it’s abstract, and that checks all the buttons.
Hey, agreed, no pickin’ on the Visa, T87. I like it too. Ofcourse, fitted with that lawnkiller twin, actually driving it might alter my view some.
Pretty straightforward, basically a Peugeot 104. The Visa Diesel was sold as an entry level model in the UK until the late 80s and ten years later was a smart choice as a beater. They were simple, used hardly any fuel, cheap to repair the engines were indestructible and you could buy one for the price of a nice meal.
Ancient, battered, Visa based C15 vans were still chugging around in large numbers when I was in Spain earlier this year. Always wanted one of those.
Here’s the motorhome version!
Thanks for the comprehensive report and photos. I’m lucky to have a neighbor here in the US who has a DS21 and has also had a CX wagon, though I haven’t seen it lately. So a Citroen is an almost daily sight for me, which is unusual in the States. And on my recent trip to Ecuador, I saw quite a few late model Citroens, including the cute C3 and many C4 sedan taxis. As for older Citroens, it is impossible not to be charmed by the TA and 2CV, but the DS does nothing for me, and I’ve always considered the SM to be barely more attractive than the Ami 6. I realize I’m in the minority here …
Great selection T87, always to be stared at anew. It never tires me.
Never realised how parts-binnish the end of the glorious SM is. Was this the only version, because I have a minds eye image that is slightly simpler and undergarnished by a mid-mount bunch of finger-bananas exhaust outlet?
Plus many, btw, to the praise for the unprotected sides of the CX. That basic dog-dished look is their best presentation, sort of unsmiling super-cool chic. The much later CX 2 (or whatevs it was called) with blackouts and plastic and a dumb persons version of the dash managed to crap on the board (or who-evs) had signed off on it by successfully looking older than the original.
Super-basic BX is the best version too, (if a lesser thrill overall than the CX), with the later Gti types looking like your elegant little granny in high clogs, flares and a beehive.
Here’s some questions from someone in the mountain west who knows next to nothing about Citroen.
The comments generally revolve around style, room, comfort, handling, ride, etc.
But engine power is not much discussed. Is there any? How did the top line Citroens (DS and then CX) compete with six and eight cylinder Mercedes? Am I correct to assume poor acceleration from zero and poor acceleration when passing? I don’t know but four cylinder engines is such big cars seems problematic.
You raise a good question, and I wonder how my thoughts on it compare with those from Europe. My thought is that it really did not matter much, as when you are used to lower horsepower/slower acceleration rates, you just drive appropriately based on what you have. Americans, used to more horsepower due to lower fuel costs, always seem to go with the idea that “there is no replacement for displacement” and automatically assume anything with lower horsepower is not capable of getting up to highway speed. While it does affect 0-60 (or 0-100Kph) times, most cars can merge into freeway traffic and keep up with everyone. There are exceptions, and as noted, some older cars with smaller engines do not do much over 60MPH/100KPH for top speed, but that was more in line with the speeds of the time of their manufacture than today’s speeds. But overall, smaller engines are not as much of a penalty as most Americans think.
I just imagine a car the size and weight of an “S” class Mercedes with the power of a four cylinder VW Golf. That may be rather crude; I simply do not understand such a small power plant on big, upscale cars.
“Getting up to highway speed” to some extent isn’t, and certainly wasn’t a thing in Europe. I never had a problem merging onto freeways in all three years I lived in the UK because the on ramps are usually more user friendly and drivers more accommodating to merging traffic.
My understanding is the French taxation system penalized large engines, and that on French roads ride & handling contributed more to lower journey times than outright power anyway.
In my experience the same can still be said of parts of Britain.
Having grown up with Citroens (we had an ID19 Cabriolet and an Ami6 when I was young) I wish I could have been there! Can’t wait for the next installment!
One of my bucket list cars is a DS or CX station wagon, unless I can find one of the amazing 3 axled CX Load Runner conversions