javier romagosa
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Citroën's independence
The 60s were a time of mergers between car manufacturers; The increasing financial costs forced the search for economies of scale, at least through alliances. Since the XNUMXs, Citroën has been in the hands of Michelin, the well-known tire manufacturer, and both entities were seeing fewer cars sold for the first time since post-war Europe.
At first, in the middle of the decade, the merger with Peugeot was considered, Although this did not come to fruition probably as a result of Citroën's high individualism. Peugeot finally ended up allied with Renault, the double chevron brand being the loose verse, and also unprotected, of the great French automobile industry. That's when, in an incomprehensible move, he bought the Maserati and released the incredible SM coupe, which of course didn't fix the sales problem.
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Another unsuccessful move by Citroën, midway through the quintessential hippie decade, was to team up with the German brand NSU to jointly design and produce a Wankel rotary engine. After the investment in a new production plant came the Oil Crisis, and in addition NSU was absorbed by the Volkswagen Group which, as expected, cut ties with the French brand in the bud. The witnesses of the adventure on the part of its promoters were the Citroën GS Birotor and the NSU Ro80.
In the early 70s Fiat became a Citroën shareholder, in fulfillment of Gianni Agnelli's wish to create a pan-European builder. Although it came to control 49% of the brand, it resold the shareholding package to Michelin in 1973; they hadn't been able to understand each other either. Finally, Citroën agreed to merge with Peugeot in June 1976, so the CX is said to be perhaps the last "true" Citroën.
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Plasticization
We have already described the trajectory of the motors; we are now going to focus on those of the structure and aesthetics of our guest. The Citroën CX was developed during the first half of the seventies, so it is not difficult to understand that their first series are vulnerable to corrosion. In this regard, the reader should know that protection against this destructive phenomenon was reinforced around 1981.
On the other hand, in 1982 a widening of the wings was carried out to accommodate the Michelin TRX tires, which would be fitted as standard in the more performance versions of the model at that time, the GTi. In 1983, the French house modified the front grille and the running board moldings.
Just like we said in the first part of this article, with the passage of time the CX was adopting a more plastic line, more in keeping with the times. Little by little the spoilers were installed in its rear window, until forming a kind of ugly spine in some versions; meanwhile, the beautiful chrome bumpers were replaced by others made of, let's say, less noble materials ...
The climax of this renovation, which was probably intended to face serious competition from the Renault 25, was the year 1985. At that time Series II was presented, for which, apart from the plasticization exterior, the dashboard had been redesigned; This was not a radical change - the ergonomic croissant with all the controls at your fingertips was still there - but the scales were replaced by conventional clocks.
A good deal
A week ago Miguel A. Vázquez told us that the Citroën CX does not finish entering the olympus of the classics. I can't agree more with him, but the truth is that I have a hard time understanding it: As we have seen, it is a car that oozes Citroën DNA on all four sides, in addition to having set the standard in terms of design, aerodynamics, safety and comfort in the mid-seventies.
The prices of its most equipped Series I versions -Prestige, GTi Turbo- oscillate in the international market between 2.000 and 10.000 euros, while those of the DS, its predecessor, oscillate between 6.000 and 30.000. It is true that there is a difference in age and technological impact, but the automotive philosophy is the same and it is expected that in the future our protagonist will revalue.
The price of the basic and intermediate versions, especially those of the Series II, are even more juicy. In particular, I think a second-series Turbo Diesel Estate or Estate could be a pretty consistent option these days. For the more nostalgic, I cannot fail to point out a first-batch Prestige with a vinyl roof, although later versions mount the five-speed gearbox.
The most desired alternative is perhaps that of a GTi Turbo, with its injection, its turbo and its extra power. Certainly, it seems like a lot of a car at a bargain price; although the truth is that a 2400 Palas, produced in Vigo until the liberalization of our automobile market in 1981, does not look bad either ...
If you want to know more details about the Citroën CX, such as finishes, nomenclature, more specific information about the different engines, sales in the US or special versions, among others, we encourage you to visit the website of the CX Club of Spain, to whom again we want to express our gratitude for their collaboration in this report. There you will find a complete chronology with which you can get a more exhaustive idea of the model.
