This car is one of the first I photographed after finding the Curbside Classic website back in 2011, as I remember I was driving home one evening when I saw a car unusual enough that I had to stop and take some photos of it. I think you can see why!
While I like the car, I don’t really know much about its story, so in learning more I thought I would expand it into a full Curbside Classic post. Having said that, I am going to keep to the GS story and not the wider history of Citroën, and only briefly touch on the GS Birotor.
The Citroën GS was the end result of 10 years of development, starting in 1960 when Citroën decided to broaden their model range which then consisted of the large and prestigious ID/DS and the small and parsimonious 2CV. The initial C60 version was like a larger version of the Ami 6, looking slightly more like a DS, with a flat-four engine. Perhaps not advanced enough at the time for Citroën’s tastes?
The next iteration called Project F nearly got to production but was abandoned for being too similar to the new Renault 16 with the suggestion there may have been some industrial espionage. Quite a decision to tear up millions worth of development, but the resemblance is there! The front end looked more like the SM.
The project was quickly revised and the GS would debut in 1970, and was arguably the most sophisticated small car in the world, winning the 1971 European Car of the Year award.
It was powered initially by the light and compact 1015cc flat-four engine from Project F that fit within the French 6CV tax bracket, sending its 55.5 bhp (41 kW) at 6,500 rpm to the front wheels in a similar package to the Lancia Flavia, Alfa Romeo Alfasud or Subaru. ‘CV’ translates to steam horsepower, incidentally.
The suspension was Citroën’s hydropneumatic system suspending double wishbones at the front and trailing arms at the rear mounted on rigid subframes, giving a wonderful ride on any surface albeit with quite a lot of wheel travel that resulted in more body roll than many people were used to but contributed to impressive grip levels given the narrow 145SR15 Michelin tires. The height adjustability was a signature feature, with a party trick of being able to drive on three wheels.
Dimensions are in millimetres – length is 162.2″, wheelbase 100.4″, height 53.1″, width 63.3″
The body was compact, space-efficient and highly aerodynamic with a drag coefficient of 0.33. As you would expect for a Citroën, you could not call the styling by Robert Opron conventional, but thanks to the extended gestation I don’t think it was particularly startling. Thanks to the slippery body, top speed was 92 mph (147 km/h), which is impressive for just 55 bhp.
Interestingly despite the fastback shape, the GS was actually a sedan rather than a hatchback, as the Citroën CEO did not feel one was suitable for the company; the Citroën CX would follow. This was not uncommon at the time, with other examples being the Alfasud and Lancia Beta.
The dashboard was also unusually shaped, and fitted out. There was a rotating-drum speedometer and a fan-shaped tachometer, a single spoke steering wheel, an umbrella handbrake in the centre and a floor shift for the 4-speed gearbox.
The sedan, or Berline in French terminology, was joined by a Break or wagon late in 1971, together with a 2-door version known as a service van although it also had side windows. As with the sedan load capacity was impressive, helped by the typical flat-four location of the spare tire in the engine bay where a larger 1222cc engine with an additional 10 bhp would follow in 1972, which also brought the option of a semi-automatic gearbox.
There were two trim levels available initially, Comfort and Club, with a more luxurious Pallas introduced in 1975. The latter got you full wheel covers, chrome side mouldings, tinted glass, thicker carpet and nicer upholstery. Two sports versions were introduced in 1973, the GS X and X2. These gave the option of a close-ratio gearbox and shorter final drive ratio for better acceleration, and featured additional driving lights.
One of the iconic images of the GS is in a peculiar multi-flag livery which was used for promoting the car, most notably at the 1972 Berlin Olympic Games. A very few cars were not repainted afterwards.
A fascinating chapter of the GS story was the Birotor, which I will only just touch on here. This used a rotary engine from Comotor, a NSU-Citroën partnership, and was built in tiny numbers on an almost experimental basis. It had nearly double the power of the standard GS with 107 hp, giving a top speed of 175 km/h. A peculiarly French bonus of the rotary engine was it fit under a lower capacity-based tax bracket. This would soon be overshadowed by the poor fuel consumption however. Nearly all the cars were bought back by Citroën to avoid having to continue to support them.
Citroën was hit hard by the 1973 oil crisis, although with the spending on the GS, the 1970 SM and the 1974 CX already saw it in a vulnerable state. Fiat sold its 49% share back to Michelin, before the company declared bankruptcy in 1974 and control was transferred to Peugeot. Maserati was sold to De Tomaso in 1975, and in 1976 Peugeot would increase their stake to 90% and form the PSA Group.
The GS had an update for 1977, with some minor restyling including more conventional instruments, engine tweaks and the introduction of a 5-speed gearbox that with improved aerodynamics would see top speed broach the 100 mph mark. Sales of the GS actually built steadily through its run, and in 1978 hit a peak of just over 250,000 per year. I think this car may be from this era; the registration number is no help as it dates from 1983.
The hatchback opening can be seen in the photo.
1979 saw a larger change, and a change in the car’s name to GSA. In addition to a more substantial facelift, the sedan was changed to a hatchback. Trim variants were now the Special, Club, Pallas and X3. This would carry the car through to the end of its production in 1986, following the introduction of its replacement model, the BX, in 1982.
While the car had previously been produced in a range of countries including Spain, Portugal, Yugoslavia, South Africa, Thailand, Chile, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, it actually stayed in production in Indonesia until 1991. In all some 2.47 million versions were built, and there is still a small but dedicated following for the car to this day. Given its unique qualities this is not surprising; while clearly a 45 year old design at its heart, for example the pillars are impossibly slim but the overall concept of the car is still quite modern today.
And to finish off this CC find, just as I was about to cross the road to get in my car and drive home this Rover P5 3-litre drove past too!
Further reading:
Cohort Classic: Citroën GS – One For The Anoraks
Curbside Classic: Citroën ID – The Goddess Storms The Bastille Of Convention
Curbside Classic: Citroen Ami 8 Break – Meet My Ugly Little French Friend
Curbside Classic: 1972 Citroen SM – Gran Touring, Franco-Italian Style
Cohort Classic: 1981 Citroen CX Pallas D – Modernism’s Last Stand
Curbside Classic: 1986 Citroen Visa 11E – A Different Type Of Citroen, A Different Type Of Supermini
Great story. A neighbour had one of these when they were new. I seem to recall them being very expensive in Australia, to the point where you’d have to be a mad-keen Citroen freak to own one. Said neighbour was – it replaced a DS and was replaced by a CX when they came out.
I’ve always been taken by those tapering A-pillars – wider at the top than the bottom. I’ve never found out why they did that.
And top marks for automotive taste to the P-plate driver with the old P5.
old Pete, Wheels magazine in Oz tested the GS 1220 Break in March 1975 and the Citroen was “a little over $5,000.”About the same as a moderately equipped Holden Kingswood wagon”.”citroen claims the little short stroker is designed for a life of 150,000klms or 90,000 miles without bottom end maintenance”. We didn’t get the drum speedo in Australia,we had white on black gauges,more conservative but a stylish spread of gauges.I have driven several GS and almost bought in 1980 a low milage Deep blue GS Pallas.I generally prefer the standard headlights to circular ones but on the Pallas it had 4 round headlights and it really suited the car,almost made the front look more slim.Wheels mag said “If there’s a Holden driver who,after a week in a Citroen GS Break,pines to get back in his Kingswood,then we will go and put another coat of paint on the Sydney Harbour Bridge”.A friend bought a GS Break new,bright yellow,but another car crashed into it after a couple of years.The GS was repaired but sadly at the body repairer an apprentice refilled the hydraulic fluid with brake fluid and it destroyed the system.She was devastated and often spoke longingly of her car.
Thanks for the reminder. 🙂 I was thinking the price was more like $6000, and couldn’t get to my magazines to check. I remembered we had the different dash layout, but wasn’t sure whether that was all RHD models or just us – we had some pretty strange car regulations in those days!
Great find John! Saw a grey GS the other day but haven’t seen a break since our family holidays in Europe in the 70s. What a superb-looking car; it fit snugly underneath the later CX – same exotic family looks without upstaging the senior. Not even Bertone could improve on that shape.
Imagine. A car so revolutionary, so ahead of it’s time, it could pass for a car of the future….even today.
I didn’t know these weren’t hatchbacks, with that fastback styling it would have seemed to be a “no-brainer”. So would want the wagon for it’s utility but the sedan looks so attractive, too. The only area that gives me pause is that smallish engine. I own and have owned several 4 cylinder powered cars. I owned a Spitfire with the 1300 engine, and it wasn’t what I’d call a Spitfire.
Thanks for telling us about this car that we never got in USA. I like it a lot. There is something so space age about what Citroen was doing at the time. The aerodynamics that promise high speed even with little horsepower and that suspension that promises a magic carpet ride. All the while being able to retain such a strong national identity.
There were obviously some compromises from the tenuous finances of Citroen. The biggest compromise for us in the USA is that Citroen never was able to make the kind of investment that it would have taken to build a dealer network to properly support such cars on American roads. It probably would have required engineering changes such as fuel injection for smog and larger radiators for sustained interstate travel. Perhaps DAF could have provided early CVTs. I think once the investment was made these could have done well. A small luxury model would have to look like nothing else and provide a unique experience. The GS is that in spades. It wouldn’t have sold VW numbers but the foreign exchange would have been great for France/Citroen and USA would have had an interesting and road decorating new choice.
Radiators wouldn’t be a problem as the GS engine was air cooled.
They were everywhere in Britain in the 70s and 80s but nearly all have succumbed to the 70s bugbear of rust, coupled with not being the easiest of cars to repair. One friend who had one rang ATS or Kwik-Fit or one of the other tyres-and-exhausts-R-us chains to enquire about a new exhaust and they simply hung up on him…
For this reason the BX which replaced the GS/GSA in 1983 was made to be a good deal easier to service, with a water cooled in-line four shared with the Peugeot 405.
I should have realized air cooled, water boxers came later to Subaru and VW/Porsche at least. Thanks for the info and the English perspective.
I knew a guy who had a Citroën BX diesel. He used to tow a pretty heavy tandem axle trailer (its loads were bags of animal feed) regularly.
He mentioned the hydropneumatic suspension as an important advantage: thanks to the horizontal ride of his BX the police never noticed that the trailer was way too heavy for the towing vehicle.
I presume that Dutch cops? aren’t paying enough attention to towing infractions, judging from previous photos you’ve posted as well.
No worries, air brakes (towing vehicle + trailer), ABS (towing vehicle + trailer) and a heavy-duty trailer coupling (same type as used on big rigs) are legally required when things get heavy. Like on the rig below.
But I must admit. It’s some sort of national hobby (or disease) to tow as much as you can with whatever is available with a trailer hitch.
Another one: a farmer I know had a beautiful black BMW E34 525 tds. It was his family car, but he also used it as a trailer tower, to haul potatoes and onions to the stores. The trailer hitch came a bit loose after a while, due to all that weight and stress. So he just welded the trailer hitch on the BMW’s subframe. Problem solved.
One has to be handy like that to be a farmer.
I think there’s considerable “engineering margin” which allows people to get away with overloads. It just means the manufacturer isn’t liable if the frame breaks or they lose control.
I once saw a badly overloaded Chevy pickup, filled above the sides with dirt, practically dragging its bumper on the ground. No way could it have been within spec GVW.
Same goes with aircraft, bridges, etc. DC-3 was famous for its overload tolerance.
“air brakes (towing vehicle + trailer)”
Would a Toyota like that be converted to air brakes?
Yes, that is possible. The aftermarket air brakes-conversion is often done by the trailer manufacturer. This Land Cruiser is registered as a commercial vehicle, so no rear seats and a flat cargo floor.
The Land Cruiser 150-series above has a (registered) towing capacity of 11,575 lbs (5,250 kg). Power from a 3.0 liter 4-cylinder turbo diesel.
BTW, my reference book notes that the GS was Car Of The Year and that there was a hatchback on offer towards the end.
AND…apparently the GS was one of Citroen’s best selling cars, beaten only by the 2CV. Of course the 2CV was in production for 30-31 years while the GS was only produced for 10.
2cv production was more like 40 years
42 years; ”1948-1990” said the anorak and 3.872.583 produced.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citro%C3%ABn_2CV
One thing that CC has done for me is give me a certain appreciation for French cars, particularly Pugeot and Citroën. However, I have reached the point in life when I am content to admire them from afar rather than as an owner. So thanks for this one.
American makes (esp. Ford) used to emphasize ride quality, and French cars like Citroën had this in spades, with good roadholding to boot. What a shame they all failed here.
Funny how diverse are the names for 4-door cars:
America: Sedan (a French city)
Britain: Saloon (after French salon)
France: Berline (after the German capital)
These were wonderful cars, with some great and innovative engineering in them. Truly, it was DS for slightly lower slot in the market.
You may be surprised by a 1015cc engine; later cars had 1225cc (I think, there or thereabouts) engines, but the combination of decent aerodynamics and great roadholding more than made up for it.
With Fiat 128 and the Alfasud the GS gave a huge wake up call to many complacent European manufacturers. Only truly responded quickly – with the 1974 Golf.
A very sight in Europe now – the last one I saw on the road was this one this one
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/mountainside-classics-citroen-gs-and-renault-4cv-on-mont-ventoux/
Quite remarkable cars, with some great engineering and a confident disregard for convention in so many areas – styling, suspension, engine, cooling, interior.
Sadly, now a very rare sight on the road – the last one I saw was probably this one.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/mountainside-classics-citroen-gs-and-renault-4cv-on-mont-ventoux/
With the Fiat 128 and the Alfasud the GS acted as a huge wake up call for complacent manufacturers, and perhaps the first response was the 1974 Golf. BLMC pitched the Allegro as a GS and Alfasud competitor, somewhat unconvincingly.
Ill try to post some Carshow Classic photos on the Cohort later
Finally managed to get the photos uploaded to the Cohort
The reference book I regularly use gives 3 different engines for these cars, excluding the rotary engine. First cars had a 1015cc unit good for 55-61 horsepower. Then came a 1222cc engine for about 59-65 horsepower and finally a 1299cc engine…also rated at 65 horsepower.
And yes, I goofed, 2CVs were produced from 1948-1990. So after 42 years, Citroen sold 3.5 million 2CVs and 2/3rds as many GS in only 10 years.
There was also an 1129 in later iterations. The 1015 was a torque free area but would rev to 8000. The 1299 had all the torque but that 1222 was the sweet spot
Good info, I only briefly touched on the engine updates as the capacity increases were pretty minor (<10%)
Yes, the 1222cc GS Club (’73) was a nippy little car to drive, a pleasant revvy eager little motor!! 🙂
Great read.
I love Citroens in general and the GS is an especially attractive model, splitting the difference between the utilitarian 2CV and the extravagant DS nearly perfectly.
I’ve always found the GS Citroen to be the least attractive Citroen. Strangely enough, today, I find it more attractive than today’s Citroens.
Does anyone know what these cost relative to models we had in USA at the time?
I was first experiencing Citroen Love when these were introduced in 1970. I’ve never even seen one, but I read everything that “Car” magazine wrote about them. The brown Pallas shown above really impresses me.
Lovely Rover, too. That’s another make that presses my buttons, especially the P5B.
One of my favorite cars of the modern era, in terms of anticipating the future with its highly efficient design. I consider it a precursor to all of the more recent aerodynamic compact cars, and especially of the Prius. A very advanced and prescient automobile.
That’s a dream combination: Prius driveline + auto-leveling oléopneumatique suspension. The Atkinson engine might have to power the hydraulics as well as the A/C.
Of course, built the Toyota Way is vital here. It’s time that industry got serious on this marvelous but neglected technology, instead of merely smart dashboards.
If I ever hit the lotto, I’m getting one of these (and an NSU Ro80 and a Lancia Fulvia).
IIRC, Citroen built 847 GS Birotors.
nice write up. I know the guy who owns the GS with the flags in the picture and actually rode in this very car once!
one thing though: to say “The GS had an update for 1977, with some minor restyling including more conventional instruments” is … ummh … somewhat wrong. The interior of the GS got weirder as the 70s progressed! It started out with classic, round dials – moved on to the rotating-drum speedometer for the higher appointed cars – and with the facelift, ended up being whats posted below in the GSA. One of the weirdest dashboards ever to be dropped into a production car, I think!
I love that small display on the lower left side that tells you your special. Every car should have that.
You definitely have to be a special person to drive an old Citroen in the US.
My neighbor has a beautiful red SM that lives under a tarp in his yard. One day last year it had made its way to the street! I like to imagine he got to take it for a least one drive, because the next day it was back in the yard in such a way that it appears to have been towed. The tarp went back on and it has not left the yard since.
Too right; next to a Tucson post office there was a property once full of old Cits, guarded by chain-link fence. Have no idea what shape they were in; maybe he was a hoarder.
That “printed-circuit board” style display reminds me of modern hybrid instruments. Avante-garde again!
Thanks for the feedback, it makes sense that the cheaper versions did not get what must have been an expensive instrument cluster to produce. Note that the 1977 update mentioned was not the GSA, did they adopt the above dash prior to the GSA?
Those controls are a bit out of control! It might be the angle of the photo, but for example the turn signal control is not obvious. I think that if you need to resort to the instruction book to work this sort of thing out (within reason), it is a poor design.
John H the GS Pallas and the 1000cc GS only had five circular white on black instruments in Australia.Like Peugeot 404s the GS also had a crank handle! A very useful item.The horizontal cylinders retained some oil so when you started the car from cold it would blow clouds of blue smoke.Citroen claimed the retained oil was the reason for the high revving engine’s longevity.A car so beautifully designed and engineered that you do not need expensive electronics or bloody reversing cameras.People said Citroens were complex automobiles but today they seem quite simple.
Yes I did read the RHD versions had conventional instruments only, which makes sense. At some point I plan to do an update to the article to incorporate the extra info that has been mentioned in the comments (not this minute though!)
John, not to worry! it’s a great piece, thank you for sharing your work!
Yes, I believe the dash above was adopted for the GSA. My dad briefly owned one in the early eighties, and I remember that it felt like a rattling tin can even compared to my mom’s Renault 4. I was a very proud kid when I was upgraded to being driven about in a W123.
The controls actually do make some sense, albeit in a very out-of-the box thinking (french?) way: the driver is supposed to have his hands on the steering wheel all the time for security reasons, so the thought apparently was to cluster everything in a way that could be operated with a finger while steering at the same time. thats how these satellites came to be be, placed left and right of the wheel. the turn signals are actually operated with one of the knobs on the left satellite, similar to what’s found in the Citroen CX. It all does work well once you’re used to it, but clearly is not self-explanatory.
I thought that might be the case. I remember having trouble getting high beam to work on a Peugeot 504 a few years ago. Easy once you knew how, but when used to ‘normal’ stalk operation the square movement of the Peugeot’s took a bit of explaining.
Vicroads website has 1974 as “year of manufacture”
Rego is still current, so this car is likely to still be driven everyday.
Front subframe picture shows some very clever packaging. I love the 1st dash picture. The Star Wars version, not so much.
I love the wild-looking instrument panel with the fan tachometer. It strikes me as the heretofore-unknown analog ancestor of some of the electronic instrument panels of the ’80s.
haha, that’s true! the GS’s original dash with the round dials is actually very similar to the one found in the Citroen SM. Citroen only added the drum-speedo sourced from the CX and … voila, you had a fancier interior for the upscale version.
In Slaughterhouse Five, Billy Pilgrim Says “I was there in Dresdon….”
Well, we was there in Vancouver 30 years back with this exact vehicle [without the unfortunate roof rack]
Ours was a gray-market item with maybe 75K . Always an entertaining delight to drive anywhere…The wife and kids preferred it to any of the esoteric vehicles we’d ever owned.
I knew that sooner or later I would have to confront “unicorn-parts syndrome” so I was almost ready when the clutch needed replacing: if I remember it right, one part was almost generic- ie some other French car used it-maybe the throw-out bearing. I knew that a shop I patronized could handle the disc-that left the pressure plate. There was no way I would phone a French supplier [ this despite every piece of the car that I looked at said “Made in France”- in English!] I ordered the part from a Citroen dealer in London and was on the road again in mere months. All good, except my confidence was now shaken to the point that the looming 100K mark terrified me and we reluctantly sold it… We all loved the car-as a package it was almost as good as it gets. Yes, at the time there were thousands of ’em all over Europe, but I was told there were only four [4] in N America!
Party trick? What other “party trick” helps you escape assassination attempts?
I wonder if the same would work on a GS – perhaps if both driver and De Gaulle were sitting on the same side as the remaining rear tire. I don’t think I’ve seen a photo that had more than the driver on board, with the passenger side wheel removed, so it makes sense that weight distribution was important for it work for the GS!
The Citroen C-60 prototype would have looked much better had it received a similar fastback / hatchback rear-end as the DS and later Ami models, plus an enlarged 1400-1600cc Flat-4 regardless of the potential risks that prevented Citroen from doing so even in the Citroen GS/GSA.
Though have read that the Citroen Project F was to feature an entry-level 750cc Flat-2 engine, given that Citroen looked at a 950cc Flat-4 derived from the 425cc Flat-2 for the Citroen Ami that was later enlarged to 1015cc, one wonders why a 750cc Flat-4 derived from an updated version of the earlier 375cc Flat-2 was not considered?