By Classic Yorkshire contributor Tony Lofthouse
Among a ‘clutch’ of cars celebrating big milestones in 2024 are the Saab 9000, Jaguar D-Type, the VW Golf (see Mike’s birthday story, posted 15 Jan) and an amazing French classic.
The curvy front-wheel-drive Citroen CX was launched in 1974 with the unenviable task of replacing the legendary DS model.
The CX was billed as the last ‘big Citroen’ before their takeover by Peugeot in 1976.
As you’d expect with Citroen, it came with advanced features for its time from its concave rear window to help rainwater run-off and a Kamm tail end to the car makers much copied self-levelling suspension system.
The fastback design offered particularly low drag levels (0.36), hence the title CX, the French term for ‘drag coefficient’.
Inside the car, a futuristic single spoke steering wheel and oval instrument panel also caught the eye.
The car was initially launched with a 1985cc engine and was later joined by improved 2200 and 2400cc units. A turbo-powered 2.5 litre diesel engine was added in 1984.
It was named European Car of the Year in 1975 and quickly attracted the interest of European royalty and Heads of State keen to glide around in their luxury CX for those official duties.
In 1985, minor Series 2 changes were made to the CX range but by then sales were stalling. Even a brand endorsement from global superstar Grace Jones it seems couldn’t revitalise the car’s fortunes.
Nearly 1.2 million CX’s were sold over 17 years. Sadly, there are fewer CX’s left on the road than the DS, but lucky owners who are prepared to put the money in are sitting on a growing investment.
A quick online search suggests prices range from £6,000 for an early model to over £20,000 for a good condition 1980s example.
Not bad for a prestige piece of European motoring history!