(first posted 10/28/2016) Paul Frere was a legendary journalist and driver, and Road and Track was fortunate to have him be their European Editor for years. His knowledge and insights added greatly to any subject he covered. In this case, it was a big deal: Citroen’ replacement for the legendary DS was finally at hand, almost exactly 20 years after it first appeared. I remember reading this, as well as the coverage of it in Auto, Motor und Sport. Heady times; an all-new big Citroen.
The CX got off to a somewhat modest start, with just two versions (X 2000/2200). I fact, the top tier DS 23 Pallas would continue in production for a bit longer, until the CX evolved a bit further with larger engines and its own Prestige model.
Somewhat sadly, the CX had to do with an updated version of the DS’ pushrod four, as Citroen lacked the capital to develop a new engine. It was the same issue back in 1955, when the DS then had to use the old four from the Traction Avant. Developing radical new solutions to other aspects of these cars just didn’t leave enough for a new compact six or boxer four. But the Cx made the most of its engine; it was much smoother in its new transverse location thanks to very effective engine mounts and other measure.
Frere’s driving impressions are always top-notch.
The CX took its name for the French abbreviation for Coefficient of drag (“CD”). In the case of the CX, that was .30, a laudable number for the times, but pretty typical for today. And when it was first introduced, it was referred to as the Cx, which is the correct way to express it, but it soon became CX, for marketing reasons, presumably.
Great article, but I have to admit, only the French would put the belt driven accessory’s on the wrong end of the engine 🙂
Given the proximity of the “front” of the engine to the inner fender, the accessory drives appear to be wisely located in the middle of the engine compartment. Servicing would be much, much easier in this location.
US manufacturers have done similar things over the years- As I recall the Chrysler K-Car drove an air pump using a pulley mounted on the back of the camshaft in the eighties, and the 4.0 OHC V-6 used in the Explorer and Mustang included a rear mounted camshaft timing chain on one bank of the engine.
I should note that the 4.0 V-6 cam drive was a Ford of Germany innovation, and moving it to the back side of the engine did NOT improve overall serviceability.
»koff«Saab»koff«
It’s a shame that the CX didn’t sell in the USA. I find it the most attractive looking car since the Citroen DS/ID series cars.
It was the adjustable-height suspension which killed any chance of Federalizing it. The French weren’t inclined to bend over very far to suit American rules & tastes, even if it were possible here.
I don’t know if this was a sort of regulatory protectionism (it’s not as if the French posed a major market threat in any case), but it wouldn’t surprise me if so.
If that isn’t damn unforgivable, I don’t know what is. What Citroen should’ve done was provided a comprehensive dealer and service network in North America, particularly in the USA. I would’ve thought that would help.
It was regulatory protectionism, though aimed at Mercedes more than Citroen.
The past two weeks have been great ones for CC Francophiles! The Cx is handsome, but IMHO the C6 is among the most beautiful sedans Citroen or anyone else ever built.
Imperialist-I agree with your comment re the C6.I haven’t seen one in the metal and I doubt any were sold in Tasmania.Since Citroen ceased manufacturing the C6 the few used ones for sale in Australia have been sold.One of the many features of the C6 were headlamps which turned with the steering.I drove my rellos,a politician,press secretary’s DS which had turning headlamps and just brilliant at night.My ID19,1965 year,didn’t have turning lights but was still a great car.Even before the great spread here on Facel Vega cars I always thought the inspiration for the C6 tail lights was from the Facel Vega.I read that celebrated Australian jazz musician and composer James Morrison bought a Citroen C6,lucky man.
Yep gorgeous cars in the metal I saw a black C6 in a super market car park in Mana somewhere I have photos, not very many made it to NZ, but the current new lineup is easy to see at my local Peugeot Citroen Suzuki dealer.
While it may have started as Cx it didn’t stop Citroen using similar nomenclature later for smaller cars vis. the AX and BX.
AX BX ZX Xantia Xsara Citroen has a fascination with the letter X.
That’s true. You could add Saxo too, I guess. Their other favoured letter must be S – DS, GS, SM, Visa (ooh, that last one was a bit tenuous!). There’s quite a lot of the recent ‘DS’ types round here, both with and without Citroen on.
Wonder why they would have used the Lancia Beta transmission and discard the fifth gear. The tall geared model sounds like more work than anything saved by the deletion. It might have been a space issue. This might also explain the lack of a V6, neither the Dourvrin nor an austere version of the SM V6.
Read elsewhere that the Citroen CX was designed from the outset to be fitted with either the Maserati V6 used in the Citroen SM or a version of the Wankel engine, though neither had a chance to be implemented when Citroen was bankrupt and sold to Peugeot (with Maserati being sold off to De Tomaso), with Peugeot initially not being inclined to throw money at pre-PSA quirky Citroens.
It would have interesting to see a Citroen CX V6 though one is not sure for certain whether the PRV V6 would have fitted, despite both the PRV V6 and Maserati V6 units originally being derived from V8 engines,
I drove a Cx 2200 in the late 1970s.A friends parents,academics,bought it in England when they were lecturing there and shipped it home to Tasmania.Can’t quite put my finger on it,or mind,but it didn’t impress me as much driving it as the ID/DS cars did.Still a good car to drive though.
Looking forward to reading this later. Always found the Cx attractive. Looked at an ad for one once and was put off by what looked like an overly plasticky dash and interior but the one in the black & white pic looks great. I wonder if they changed that later. For sure don’t remember the sew style on the seats looking that good.
Hope PSA will re-enter the US market with some French style products that stand out.
Calibrick,have you seen pics of the Citroen Cactus?
Never heard of it but Googled just now and see it’s getting rave reviews as are most of the new PSA products. I knew they were on the road to recovery but did not know there was so much fun and performance in the mix. Good for them.
Their designs are a bit thick on the Peugeot side but otherwise the new 308 seems like a terrific alternative to the Golf, which is a nearly perfect product spoiled by horrible reliability. Fiat is done leaving the quirky buyers up for grabs. I think they have a shot if they bring good quality. Would be nice to see a revival of the 205 shape, somehow.
yes current Peugeot designs are a bit thick,google the Peugeot 306,often referred to as the finest handling and suspension of any front wheel drive car,perhaps excepting Citroen.Have driven a 306 several times and reviews are correct,supple suspension,brilliant steering and handling.Superb seats etc.
I have a Xsara based on the 306 but with mildly different lower control arms to give more progressive rear steer, very few cars can stay with it on a twisty road and with the turbo diesel its a ball to drive and comfortable, a mate has just bought a 1905 turbo diesel Xantia its the only car Ive driven and ridden long distance in more comfortable than mine, I will get one next, brilliant ride handling and fuel economy coupled with good on road performance, theres no point in shopping other brands they simply dont match up.
Citroen has always been well ahead of the rest. A 1905 turbo diesel that still out handles modern cars is a pretty big claim, though hey, I’m not arguing.
I should get photos of the Cactus and it bretheren but since the cohort no longer works theres no point.
KiwiBryce-I have to get out more,lol.Haven’t seen a Cactus in the metal either.Mind you I really like the shape and concept and it has cornering headlights.If I win the lotto….
I saw one or two Cacti (?) in Turkey last year. Stunning, and really stood out in a sea of many cars that were new sights for me as an American. Though not as distinctive as the Turkish DeSoto and Fargo trucks …
Here’s a Cactus. Plenty of them cluttering up the supermarket car parks of south west London, though this photo comes from Top Gear. They look less butch and more ordinary in real life than in photos, though the rubber insets in the doors obviously stand out.
Yep, they’re quite common by now. Below the brand new Citroën C3. The emphasis is on “comfort”, not “dynamics” or “sporty”.
The new C3’s interior. And I like what I see !
I have always admired the interior of these cars, the exterior not so much.
Once you’ve tried the steering of this car most other saloons seem deficient. The car reacts to small inputs (meaning little effort is needed to change direction) and the steering self-centres so you don’t have to “choose” to go straight on; straight ahead is the default. The direction indicator controls are a rocker switch by the 9 o’clock position. They don’t self-cancel which forces the driver to think about using them. The brakes are powerful and require little effort and there’s little pedal travel. Essentially, it’s a car you must consciously operate but the operations are spare and proportional. The saying is that after 5 minutes of a CX you’ll never want to drive one again; after 15 minutes you will never want to drive anything else. Quite true: my 15 minutes in one has made me realise the deficiency of every other car I have driven. Even the XM which I own, and it’s quite good in many respects.
The brakes in hydro Citroens are superb I driven a couple of Xantias a mate has owned recently and the cars pull up well, the system is very similar to how air brakes work on trucks pressure releases the brakes lowering that pressure by pushing the brake pedal applies them the opposite to how hydraulic brakes in other cars work.
KiwiBryce,I havent driven a Xantia but have read many reviews and really like the shape.Also like the Xsara,especially the 2nd series with the big headlights.Have been close a couple of times to buy a used Xsara two door.
Also, a big thank you for posting this.
American version
Lovely looking car. It’s a shame this was never popular here in the USA. Citroen had some great ideas. Even today it still looks futuristic.
Nice read, Paul — I had no idea that P. Frere was writing for US mags back then.
Are you sure about the “Cx” with a small “x” thing? I mean aside from this article? I don’t recall the car having any other name than “CX”, even the earlier ones.
I have a friend who collects these. He’s had a ’76 Diesel, a ’78 2000 and currently rides an ’84 black Prestige (the LWB limo model).
The ’76 Diesel didn’t have the DIRAVI power steering. You could tell by the larger diameter steering wheel. It was a nice ochre/brown colour, very ’70s. He sold it to a Dutchman (all good Citroens end up in Holland. That’s a fact.)
The ’78 2000 was just perfect. Metallic beige, with all its bright trim, exactly like the last pic in your piece. It was a late-78 so it had the most desirable dash, the one with the “grenouille” — that ball-shaped ashtray sitting on the middle (see pic). Never been in anyhting more comfortable than that car. The seats were like lounge chairs, the suspension like floating down a canal on a boat made of cotton wool and sponges. Unfortunately, it had terminal tin worm underneath. And the 2 litre engine was a bit too anemic (though better than the Diesel)…
So he finagled something worth restoring instead. His 1984 Prestige is a real sight. The leather seats and power-everything make it a real nice car, last year for the chrome bumpers. He deleted the vinyl on the roof and gave the car a new coat of shiny black paint. Looks beautiful. And with the 2.4 Citroen block, it goes rather fast, too.
How is this name pronounced? Sit-tro-N? Cy tro-N? I have never heard anyone speak this name.
In French, three syllables: cee-tro-en.
In British English, two, and quickly: Sitrn.
Like this:
Did anyone notice that Paul Frere was expressing concern that people would stop building exceptional cars because of the speed limits being imposed on the continent at the time? 140 kph was perceived as being too slow to merit spending money on good cars. When you consider what a typical European was driving in the early ’70s, this seems like a remarkable perspective. There were plenty of economy models that couldn’t go that fast even for an instant, let alone cruise at any speed over 130 kph.
Well, it’s completely irrelevant to the topic of “economy models”, right? And even then, actually many economy models could go 130-140 kmh in 1975. And certainly most/all mid-market models could easily do that speed back then. So what’s your point?
The real issue is that Frere was quite utterly wrong on the issue. Cars continued to get faster and faster, right. So he was wrong. But I’m not getting your point.
Citroen’s own best selling cars of the era had top speeds in the 60s and 70s, as did Renaults. The Fiat 127 was the best selling car in Europe at the time, and it’s volume model had a top speed of 83 mph. Most Ford Escorts were 1.3 liter single carburetor models or less. The only Minis that could break into the 80s were 1275 GT clubman models by 1974. VW was just launching water cooled cars that would be developed into decent performers.
I find Frere’s comment an interesting glance into a much freer Europe, where one could exercise the cars they could afford. The CX was novel in that it was aerodynamic but hobbled by being fairly heavy and limping along with an antique engine that was never particularly good. At the same time, it had so much less drag than a typical .45 Cd Mercedes-Benz or Peugeot that it would have been interesting to see how it would have performed without artificial limits.
I was in Germany in 1984, when the Autobahn still had usable unlimited sections and drivers still had West German lane discipline. The left most lane was mostly the domain of people running 160-200 kph at the time. Unfortunately, the only fast foreign cars the West Germans spent their money on were Renault 30s and then-new Renault 25s. I never saw a Citroen in the fast lane, which I guess is indicative of the importance of engine fortitude for high speed cruising. What was appealing about Germany at the time was that performance wasn’t about bragging rights. Performance was about getting where you were going in a short amount of time. More than 40 years ago, most of what was the free world forgot what real progress looks like.
You’re singling out a few slow pokes in your 1st paragraph there. Sure, the flat-twin citroens, the Mini and the Renault 4 were small-engined slow city (or outback / country) cars. But aside from those and a couple others (Hillman Imp for instance), the majority of small European cars were able to reach 130+ kph by the mid-’70s.
1974 model year
Opel Kadett 1.2L 146 kph
Lancia Beta 1.4L 170 kph
Alfa Romeo Alfasud 1.2L 152 kph
Renault 5TL 1L 135 kph
Audi 80 L 1.3L 147 kph
Skoda 110L 135 kph
Simca 1000 134 kph
Peugeot 104 138 kph
Vauxhall Viva HC 1.3L 137 kph
DAF 66 1.1L 136 kph
The CX engine — at least the 2.4 version that powered the high-end models — was very durable and pretty fast, for a measly four pot. The Turbo 2 could reach over 220 kph. The 2.5 Turbo Diesel was the fastest Diesel saloon in the world (195 kph).
The 2-litre CX was more sedate, and the venerable Citroen engine was relieved of its duties in that class in 1979 and replaced by a completely different (and quite modern) Peugeot-Renault 2 litre. The larger 2.4 was still the DS23-derived plant and stayed until the saloons’ demise in 1989.
I singled out a few slow pokes by listing the best selling cars in Europe during the era, which is the point. Top speeds and cruising speeds weren’t the same thing for the cars you listed either.
In 1974, there were still many 1960-70 Beetles, Fiat 600s, Sunbeam Imps, Citroen 2CVs, BMW 600s, Dauphines, and other assorted sordid cars on European roads. Many of these would be lucky to hit 80mph (128).
I have a small Citroen diesel ok its a newer design than these but theres a red line marked on the speedo at 135kmh, the recommended maximum speed in 4th not max rpm though at the redline in 4th its doing around 150kmh, yer man Paul Frere had it wrong
My neighbor has a gray-market diesel CX wagon (break) here in California, driven regularly and parked curbside, often in line with a 5th gen 4Runner, a Tacoma and a late model Outback. At rest, with the suspension dropped, it looks immensely long and very low compared to its curbside companions. And hard to believe it’s a 40 year old design.
By the way, off the topic of Citroens, but I highly recommend Paul Frere’s autobiography, From Starting Grid to Chequered Flag (yes, British spelling in translation). He drove Oldsmobiles and Chryslers in European road races in the early ’50’s, which sounded absolutely terrifying, but should be interesting to some CC fans of that era’s Detroit iron.
I remember seeing hordes of these on my one and only trip to France back in 1989. One thing I especially liked about them were a couple of the names for different trim levels: “Athena” and “Pallas.” Appropriate for daughters of the “Goddess.”
yes remember alighting from the TGV in Paris and observing many locals dont take much notice of orderly waiting lines,my girlfriend and me suggested to the French couple behind us,alles,you go first and take the Peugeot taxi because I wanted to ride in the CX.The driver a French woman with a small dog asked us if we were Anglaise,I replied non ,Australie.She asked je fume,oui and she offered a Gauloise,I said non merci,too chaude.She laughed.Too hot.
I read this review opened mouthed. How horrible this car was you’d never believe. I had a red station wagon CX. With it I learned to cuss really damned good in French. C’est la merde!
It broke down at least every six weeks time I owned it. I know I must have known where every Citroen garage in Paris was located.
You may dream for something you couldn’t have, but believe me you were saved from a nightmare.
Remarkably, almost 50 years later, and the design still looks modern, and elegant. Inside and out.
Bernard Cahier, famous motorsports photographer, was another R&T European correspondent I fondly remember reading as a kid.
I have owned three. The last was the best, a 2.4 injection automatic. What a fantastic car. Sold it because I did not want to be the one paying for the rust repairs.
Still every now and then I am looking at the ads to see if there is a good rust free injected auto for sale somewhere……
Small scale this time, 1/43. 🙂
Heller kit. French, bien sûr.
I remember going to the Los Angeles auto show with my family and making my parents, who had no possibility whatsoever of affording it, sit in the wagon version displayed in the CXAuto grey market importer’s stand. It was fantastic. So long! There was an Avanti II there as well, which was also fantastic, at least to my eyes. Must have been somewhere around 1988 or 1989
hi , this article brought me here for an idea is a lot of time in my mind . Being me from Argentina and my favorite brand of all times is Mercedes Benz AND Citroen , but a Mercedes i still can`t afford . And i see this impressive never aging CX citro and it`s lot of memories for me and my husbie which usually read Curbsideclassic forums althought he doesn`t go fluent with English .
Suddenly i have an enquire to set for all specialists :
What is the automobile marque (brand) mostly women are chosing for buying in the USA, Canada, UK , France , Germany , Italy and Belgium-Nederlands ?
Speaking about Citroen , par example, Citroen isn`t the best selling brand in Argentina as it ranks between 8th and 9th in the market share . Anyway : from the whole lot of units that Citroen sells per year in this country , almost 60% of the new purchases are made by female clientele . Mainly Citroen Cactus and tiny Citroen C3 are the favorit cars for Argentinean women . Accordinly, i want for further researches whether if curbsiderclassic forums can publish what`s the carmaker`s brand mostly women are owning from the last year . We are so curious whether if American ladies and housewives rathers GM , Ford , Chrysler , Honda , Toyota or Jeep .
My big thanks in advance to Curbside Classique
Hi Sylvia, when I am right in Italy the Lancia Ypsilon is mainly sold to women, in quite large numbers( With just 1 modell, only for sale in Italy, Lancia sells more as all of Alfa Romeo). You could say women saved Lancia, because Stellantis is planning to give a new impulse to Lancia.