When I was small we went to a Citroën dealership
to look at the CX and I was struck by just how odd-looking this French creation was. With the rear wheels half covered, my child’s
brain wondered just how changing a flat tyre worked, and the car sat low like the suspension
was broken or something. I poured over the brochure at home, and strange
things like the linear speedometer dazzled my young mind, amazed by this crazy space-age
creation from a far-off land. The CX was the last car produced by an independent
Citroën. With the company going into meltdown during
development it was starved of resources, but it’s another Citroën design classic that’s
worth celebrating today. This is the Citroën CX Story. (music) Citroën’s DS had taken the world by storm, with its innovative magic carpet-like hydropneumatic suspension and headlights that turned with the steering. After its 1955 release sales had continued
to grow throughout the 60s, but even as sales of the DS continued to climb, it became clear
that Citroën needed a successor. Work began on “Projet L” in the last few
months of the 1960s under the leadership of Robert Opron, who had designed the Citroën
SM and GS that would soon be released in 1970. It was decided early on the car would use
the wankel rotary engine that Citroën was developing in conjunction with NSU. It promised to a be a lighter and more compact
engine, and thus Citroën gave Projet L a small engine bay. This would make it a more compact car – 16cm
shorter than the DS - that still had excellent interior space. Projet L would also use the same cut-off teardrop
shape that had produced such a low drag factor for the SM and GS before it and it was styled
by Pininfarina. The Citroën SM had shown that cars with a
low drag factor got better fuel economy, and with rotary engines being thirsty beasts,
a low drag factor would help. Although not a direct copy, Pininfarina undoubtedly
leant on the Austin 1800 restyling job they were contracted to do for the British Motor
Company in 1967, just before they were purchased by British Leyland. Once the styling was completed the new car
would have a class leading drag factor of just 0.36. And with such a big focus on aerodynamics
compared to its predecessor, the DS, Citroën decided to name the new car the CX, after
the letters used for drag factor in France. Although the CX looked like a hatchback, like
the XM that would follow it, it was a saloon. But just like the DS before it, an estate
would also be produced. A low roof design was considered, but with
Citroën wanting to break into the North American market it was felt the low roof wouldn’t
appeal to drivers there. However, despite the roof being raised, European
reviewers would still criticise the car for a lack of headroom. The DS mounted its engine longitudinally,
which meant the engine bay had to be long to cater for the largest engine in the range. The CX would use a rotary engine, but it would
also use 4-cylinder engines in entry-level models, and there was even a plan to use the
V6 Maserati engine used in the SM. By mounting the engine transversely, the engine
bay could be much shorter. But it also meant a new gearbox would have
to be designed to fit into this new space. Engine noise would be kept to a minimum,
using rubber mounts to insulate the engine from its base frame, which was itself rubber
insulated from the body. This gave a level of refinement not seen on
the previous car. The car would use an improved version of their
successful hydropneumatic suspension, and that hydraulic system would also power the braking
system that used improved ventilated disc brakes. Citroën would use a conventional brake pedal,
rather than the quirky mushroom button on the DS and SM. It would use the innovative DIRAVI self-centring
power-assisted steering system from the much more expensive SM. But this would be an option, and without it,
critics would complain that the steering was far too heavy. As development continued, it became clear
that the CX was critical to Citroën’s finances. The SM had been a sales disaster, and the
15-year old DS wasn’t going to be a top seller forever. The car needed to be released soon and it
needed to sell well. The Maserati V6 was dropped due to lack of
time and resources, and the DIRAVI steering system would appear a few months after the
car was released. In 1973 disaster struck. After 10 years of development, Citroën proudly
launched their 106hp rotary engine on the GS Birotor. It made the car expensive – 70% more than
a standard GS. Fuel economy was worse than with regular engines,
and the timing couldn’t be worse. It was launched in October 1973, the first month
of the oil crisis that would see petrol prices soar. And to add insult to injury, the engine was
unreliable. After selling just 847 cars, Citroën quickly
axed the engine. This had an even worse effect on the upcoming
CX. With its small engine bay, the car had been
built around the rotary engine. Citroën was about to learn the hard way that
if you build a car around one key piece of new technology, if that fails you are in deep,
deep trouble. Ford would learn the same lesson when launching
the facelifted Ford Edge in 2010, where certain car functions could only be effectively controlled
through the disastrous MyFord Touch in-car entertainment system. Citroën had to lean on the smallest of the
DS 4-cylinder engines, leaving the car underpowered, and the car would launch with less power than
the outgoing DS model. Even if the Maserati V6 could be used, the
SM had shown it was unreliable, and Citroën was about to sell Maserati in 1975, removing
this option for good. North American sales were dealt a blow when
in 1974 the USA banned any car with height adjustable suspension. Citroën had designed the whole car around
this feature, so selling it in the States was a non-starter. Even Mercedes had to alter their 450SEL that
used similar suspension to get around the ban. The rule was repealed in 1981, but by then
it was all too late. In the summer of 1974, with Citroën spending
heavily on tooling for the CX launch the financial dam finally burst and Citroën was forced
to ask the French Government for a bail out. The result was a partnership with rival Peugeot
to form PSA. That partnership quickly progressed into a
full on takeover by early 1976, with commitments from Peugeot that Citroën would remain a
separate product line with their own identity. (music) The CX was launched just a couple of months after the Peugeot partnership. It had been rushed to market, and it showed. The car’s underpowered 2.0L and 2.2L engines
produced just 102 and 112hp. Those 10-year old engines weren’t very economical
either, and not even the lowest drag factor could make up for that. With heavy engines and the front wheel stored
under the bonnet, over 2/3 of the weight of the car was up front making for an imbalanced
car that understeered into corners. At launch only the smaller 2.0L engine was
available, and without power steering early reviewers spoke of a slow car with heavy steering. It’s never a good idea to start customers
experience of a new car with the base model, because first impressions count! It clearly had its shortcomings, but there
was also a lot to love about the new CX. The space age design, the DIRAVI power-assisted
steering (eventually when it arrived), the science fiction dashboard – something of
a trademark for Citroën. Despite their reservations, the press gave
it good reviews and it was made European Car of the Year in 1975. A diesel version of the petrol engine, used
in the Citroën C35, arrived that same year, delivering over 35mpg. But it was even more underpowered than the
petrol engines, with a paltry 0-60 time of 19 seconds. The promised CX Station Wagon arrived in 1976. It had an extended wheelbase that was also
used for the new CX Prestige saloon, giving a luxurious level of rear legroom. And Citroën would also experiment with a
version with three rows of seats, and could seat up to 8 people. A 3-speed automatic gearbox was also available. And with it a larger 2.4L engine arrived,
giving an improved, but not amazing 0-60 time of 11.4 seconds. It was actually just the old DS engine that
Citroën had finally managed to shoehorn under the CX’s bonnet. The 2.4L was further uprated in 1977 with
fuel injection, taking the 0-60 time down to a more respectable 10.4 seconds. Citroën took the CX rallying, and it had
some notable victories, initially in the Senegal rally in 1977 that they won 3 times, and also
the Paris-Dakar rally in 1981. They also took part in the gruelling 17,500
mile London-Sydney rally in 1977, placing third. Sales of the CX we respectable, but not spectacular. Citroën didn’t have the worldwide reach
other car manufacturers did, and North America was no longer an option, and this limited
sales. But possibly the main barrier was some of
the car’s quirky features. The indicators weren’t on a stalk like most
other cars but were controlled using a rocker switch, and they had to be manually cancelled
by the driver. The linear speedometer was a little unusual,
the heater controls were mounted next to the handbrake where crumbs and ash could fall
into the cracks, and the car used only one wiper blade which didn’t reach all parts
of the screen and reviewers complained gave less overall visibility. Again, first impressions count and having
to get used to a different way of driving on the all-important initial test drive could
impact sales. And car rental sales were going to be hard
for the same reasons. But to be fair to Citroën the car’s design
was a lot more conventional than previous cars, showing the company was listening to
feedback. The standout feature introduced on the CX
in 1978 has to be the ashtray shaped like an air freshener perched on top of the dashboard,
like some treasured ornament on the mantelpiece. Is it just me, or does it look like some sort
of Glad air freshener from the 1970s? Those outdated engines were updated in 1979
with the new all-aluminium Douvrin engine. It was a joint development between PSA and
Renault and provided not just faster acceleration but better fuel economy, and a more evenly
balanced car. And a 5-speed manual gearbox was made available
for the first time. The CX, like the DS before it, was customised
into many different vehicles. The BBC used both the DS and CX to cover horse
racing, and its suspension provided stable pictures over the bumpy grass terrain. And it was also popular as a small ambulance. PSA had two large cars – the Peugeot 505
and the Citroën CX and it was joined by a third – the Talbot Tagora – with PSA’s purchase
of Chrysler’s European operations in 1979. But PSA’s limited development and marketing
budget wasn’t being put into these low volume cars, they were focusing on creating the new
205 supermini that would revive its fortunes in the 1980s. PSA would slowly retreat from the large car
sector as German brands took over, with the continual relaxation of EEC trade restrictions
between countries. The highest sales figures for the Citroën
DS were in 1970, 15 years after it was launched, but by 1980 the competition was passing the
CX by, and the sales were already starting to drop. CX designer Robert Opron had left the company
and was working at rival Renault, working on cars like the Renault Fuego. Citroën design lead Jean Giret, fresh of
his work on the BX, felt the 6-year old CX needed a styling update, so started Projet
E or Project E to update the CX. The update would be both a saloon and hatchback. But all this work was being done behind management’s
back. PSA had decreed that the CX would be the last
“oddball” Citroën. When they got wind of the project they were
incensed. In their mind the CX was old technology and
there was no point investing any more money into it. The project was cancelled and PSA imposed
their own design team within Citroën. By 1981 customer’s love of the CX was dwindling. It rusted quickly, and Citroën did try to
address this in the early 80’s with better rustproofing. A small styling update appeared in 1982, but
no major changes were coming from a car that had been left out to dry. With a reputation as a slow car with high
running costs, sales started to faulter. Even that class-leading drag factor of 0.36
was soon eclipsed by the Audi 100’s 0.3 in 1982. But some small changes were made. 1983 brought the CX TRD, a 2.5L injected version
of the existing diesel engine giving 95hp. The petrol GTi was boosted to 136hp, dropping
the 0-60mph time down a full second to 8.7s. And that time would be further improved with
the ultimate CX in 1984, the GTi Turbo. The 136hp engine got the car to 60mph in just
7.6s, and newly introduced ABS brakes took it quickly back down to 0. The CX didn’t have the prestigious 6-cylinder
engines of the competition, but it wasn’t the slow tortoise it had been at launch! A much-needed styling update came 11 years
after the CX’s launch with the Series 2. The dashboard had a major update, with standard
speedometer and rev counter. The heater controls moved to the dashboard,
and the stereo moved next to the handbrake so it could get a dose of crumbs and ash rather
than the heater controls! It was a little more conventional, with parent
PSA working to smooth off the quirky edges that buyers seemed unwilling to put up with. On the outside the car got plastic bumpers
and a firmer suspension. ABS was still an option, but this was when Ford
released their new Granada with ABS as standard. PSA were trying to get a few extra years from
the car before the XM replaced it at the end of the decade, and they wanted to spend a
little as possible so they could pour their limited resources into cars that would deliver
a bigger profit. Over its life the CX was owned by many heads
of state, like French President Jacques Chirac, the Portuguese prime minister, Danish and
Dutch princes, a Norwegian king, and Prince Rainier of Monaco and his wife Grace Kelly. But it was also driven by more dodgy world
leaders like East German head Erich Honecker and south American dictators Manual Noriega
and Augusto Pinochet. It seems everyone wanted to get their hands
on a CX! With the CX’s successor, the XM in development
since 1984, Citroën did precious little to improve it in the last years of its life. There were some small fuel economy improvements,
and the turbo diesel was further boosted to give it a top speed over 120mph and a 0-60
time just under 10 seconds, like its sister the Citroën BX. Production of the saloon ended in 1989 with
the introduction of the XM, but the estate soldiered on in limited production for another
couple of years until the XM estate appeared. The CX was hampered by a lack of finances
during development and being built around an engine that ultimately couldn’t be used,
meaning for much of its life it was compromised on power and handling. Once Citroën was bought by PSA the owner
lost interest and it was seemingly just a numbers game for them to try to maximize profits
from the sunk cost Citroën had made in the 1970s. It’s a shame, because the DS deserved a
more worthy successor, and if more money had been available, and the rotary engine had
been a hit, the CX could have been that car. A big thank you to all my Patrons for supporting
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