Photo: Citroen
Traction Avant, 2CV, DS. These are the most iconic models ever produced by Citroen, a French automobile manufacturer that's been with us since 1919. But as the legendary DS was nearing the end of its product lifecycle, Citroen presented the underrated CX. The year was 1974 and the place was Paris.
Specifically, the 1974 Paris Motor Show. That's why this year's edition of the posh automotive event will mark the model's 40th anniversary. The question is, what is there to celebrate about the Citroen CX? What made it great? Well, let's start with the man that penned those sweeping lines. He's called Robert Opron and automotive design wasn't his first nature in his youth. Opron was trained as an architect, but faith had it such he would design vehicles for Simca, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Ligier, Renault and Citroen. Before he started to design cars, Opron made ends meet working at a sugar factory and in the airplane industry.
Considered by many classic car enthusiasts and fans of the Citroen brand as the last proper car made by Citroen before Peugeot took over in 1976, the mid-sized nameplate came as a four-door fastback in standard and long wheelbase guise, while families could've opted for a break (estate) variant of the CX. With its engine at the front and drive sent to the front wheels from a suite of 2 to 2.4-liter gasoline engines or a 2.5-liter four-pot diesel, the CX wasn't exactly that fast a car even though the aerodynamic design leads you to believe otherwise. It was heavy, weighing between 1.2 and 1.5 tons, and the self-leveling suspension is not the type of setup that goes well with corners of winding, mountainy roads.
That constant-height self-leveling hydropneumatic suspension was used under license by the best names of the 1970s luxury game: the Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL 6.9, as well as the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. Now that tells you something about how comfortable this type of suspension is. In a good way, even the inside was so French you wouldn't believe how all the awkwardness made so much sense once you got onboard the thing. Between 1974 and 1991, over 1.2 million were sold. Eventually, the CX was replaced by the awful XM, in turn replaced by the C6. Of course, the C6 had its fair share of faults and wackiness, but the outgoing DS5 that took its place as the lineup's flagship is not that exuberant and doesn't have that "je ne sais quoi" both the Citroen CX and C6 had by the bucketload.
Considered by many classic car enthusiasts and fans of the Citroen brand as the last proper car made by Citroen before Peugeot took over in 1976, the mid-sized nameplate came as a four-door fastback in standard and long wheelbase guise, while families could've opted for a break (estate) variant of the CX. With its engine at the front and drive sent to the front wheels from a suite of 2 to 2.4-liter gasoline engines or a 2.5-liter four-pot diesel, the CX wasn't exactly that fast a car even though the aerodynamic design leads you to believe otherwise. It was heavy, weighing between 1.2 and 1.5 tons, and the self-leveling suspension is not the type of setup that goes well with corners of winding, mountainy roads.
That constant-height self-leveling hydropneumatic suspension was used under license by the best names of the 1970s luxury game: the Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL 6.9, as well as the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. Now that tells you something about how comfortable this type of suspension is. In a good way, even the inside was so French you wouldn't believe how all the awkwardness made so much sense once you got onboard the thing. Between 1974 and 1991, over 1.2 million were sold. Eventually, the CX was replaced by the awful XM, in turn replaced by the C6. Of course, the C6 had its fair share of faults and wackiness, but the outgoing DS5 that took its place as the lineup's flagship is not that exuberant and doesn't have that "je ne sais quoi" both the Citroen CX and C6 had by the bucketload.
Google News