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50 years of the Citroën CX: Long live the streamline!
This Gaul was to lead the avant-garde and sophistication of the divine DS into the future: A mission that the Citroën CX, launched in 1974, fulfilled over 17 years with millions of units sold. It embodied the "Gloire de France" in front of presidential palaces and made history in TV crime dramas.
Penguin alarm at the Elysée Palace: 50 years ago, the newly elected French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (known as VGE for short) propagated futuristic vehicles whose streamlined shape was based on the model of the animal polar dwellers. Whether it was the supersonic Concorde jet, the 430 km/h Aérotrain, the TGV high-speed train launched in 1974 or the revolutionary Citroën CX - Giscard d'Estaing's new official car - they were all extremely fast because the air glided past them like water past a penguin. In fact, the name of the ultra-flat (1.36 meters) Citroën stood for a superior cW value (French: CX), even if 0.36 did not represent a cW world record - that is still set today by the bird in the tailcoat (cW 0.03).
But the Citroën CX was just as avant-garde in its excitingly swept lines as its predecessor, the iconic Citroën DS. Star designer Robert Opron staged the CX, which was up to 4.92 meters long, as a work of art, including sophisticated details such as the concave rear window, which allowed rain to run off in the middle. The CX also offered technical refinements: powerful turbos, hydropneumatic suspension with constant ground clearance and "Diravi", a speed-dependent and self-resetting power steering system. As a result, Citroën's flagship saloon and estate won around 1.2 million buyers in 17 years: families and industry executives as well as heads of state and artists.
Political splendor and pomp are traditionally celebrated in Paris with prestigious state limousines. In the summer of 1974, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, who had just been inaugurated as president, took the opportunity to personally present the Citroën CX to the press as the brand's new pinnacle in the double-angle design - even though the ultra-luxurious CX Prestige chauffeur saloon with extra legroom in the rear (3.10-metre wheelbase) and a higher roofline would not go into series production until a year later with the help of coachbuilder Heuliez.
From then on, the CX finally became the president's favorite despite its down-to-earth four-cylinder engine, and from 1975 he could also choose between the six-cylinder Peugeot 604 and Renault 30 in his fleet. But VGE was so taken with the CX that it was also used when he met with German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, and the two heads of state may even have discussed their plans for a European monetary system in this opulent limousine. During a visit to West Berlin in the fall of 1979, VGE also relied on the comfort of the Citroën, whose advertising slogan "Perfection of the extraordinary" apparently also convinced the GDR state leadership in the eastern part of the city. In any case, Erich Honecker had 35 examples of the four-door CX Prestige delivered, some of which were armored or significantly extended by the Swedish stretch specialist Nilsson.
Citroën chief designer Robert Opron will have been just as unhappy with the latter as he was with some of the facelifts that the CX underwent during its almost two decades of production. Purist Opron preferred originals, denied that the CX was a copy of the Pininfarina BMC 1800 study from the 1960s, but confirmed the uniform design line from the majestic Citroën SM to the compact Citroën GS to the flagship saloon CX, under whose flat hood a Wankel engine should actually have been at work. However, this was killed off by the oil crisis of 1973/74, but above all by the tight cash situation at Citroën.
In fact, the immense development costs of the Citroën CX and the construction of the most modern European car plant at the time in Aulnay-sous-Bois required a government bridging loan. However, this was only approved when Peugeot took over the management of Citroën. For Opron - who had won the "Prix Style Award" for the CX in 1975 - this was reason enough to leave the Citroën design studio. Meanwhile, the success of the CX exceeded all expectations. Not even disastrous results in endurance tests of the initially carelessly assembled saloons and estate cars (the seven-seater supercharged giant CX Break followed in 1975) in leading specialist media and the damage to its image caused by rapidly rusting bodywork could slow down the sales figures of Citroën's top model.
The "Car of the Year 1975" (the Citroën triumphed over the VW Golf in this media award) topped the sales figures of its French rivals, but also those of other avant-garde models such as the Lancia Gamma and Rover SD1 - and the CX tripled the production of its successor, the Citroën XM, which was co-designed by Bertone.
What was the fascination of the CX, which was also good for sensations as an economical cab (the world's fastest diesel four-cylinder as a 192 km/h fast turbo), a space transport giant (coachbuilder Tissier supplied three-axle vehicles with a payload of 1.8 tons) and a strong rally champion (Senegal, Monte Carlo, London-Sidney marathon)? Was it the cryptic control station resembling a spaceship with initial digital magnifying glass instrumentation or was it the flying carpet feeling thanks to the hydropneumatic suspension?
In any case, even President François Mitterand, who took office in 1981, surprised everyone by having a CX in his private fleet, although he was initially demonstratively chauffeured around in Renault models on official business. And political veteran Jacques Chirac even relied on the safety of the streamlined sedan for 20 years until 1995, in which he survived a serious accident in 1978. It was only as president that Chirac was persuaded to switch to the Citroën XM and later the C6.
The CX at the scene of the crime
After the end of production of the CX saloon in 1989, the most prominent German CX fan also drove its turbo petrol engines with up to 168 hp and speeds of around 220 km/h: Götz George and the Tatort detective Horst Schimanski, who played him. From 1985, the unconventional Schimi went on the hunt for criminals in Duisburg in the equally extroverted CX, making his way through fields or glass doors of office palaces, not letting explosions stop him or occasionally observing from the cozy living room interior of his emergency vehicle. Never before had a German TV official had such an individual company car: the Citroën CX later broke new ground with exotic film commissioner cars ranging from the Ro 80 to the Fiat 130.
Christoph Pichura from the rating organization Classic Analytics explains why classic car fans love the Citroën CX: "Even if it was not quite as revolutionary as its predecessors ID and DS, the concept and shape of the CX remained unique worldwide for many years. The German competition was pleased with the French casual manufacturing quality, otherwise the success of the CX on the European market would probably have been even greater. By the end of production, the CX had reached its highest level of maturity, and the popular GTI Turbo 2 today costs around 20,000 euros in good condition." (Wolfram Nickel/SPX)
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