Rare Rides: A Large, Luxurious Citron CX From 1987 (Part I)

by Corey Lewis

October 2nd, 2018 1:14 PM

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rare rides a large luxurious citron cx from 1987 part i

Huge amounts of interior space, a silky smooth ride, and quirky features inside and out. These are the qualities one expects from a large Citroën, and all are present and accounted for in today’s Rare Ride — the CX 25 Prestige, from 1987.

We’ve featured a couple of Citroëns before in this series, appropriately starting with the groundbreaking Traction Avant from 1955, followed by the modern and angular 1994 XM liftback. Let’s backtrack a bit today, and talk more about Citroën flagships.

The CX was designated as the executive flagship offering from Citroën after the 20-year reign of the DS (which we’ll feature eventually here) came to an end. By this time, the DS’s 1955 design was overdue for replacement, and the CX shared space at dealers with its DS grandfather for model year 1975.

Citroën wanted to maintain the same basic shape of the DS in its new model, so that’s what they did. Immediately recognizable as a Citroën, the CX wore the same fastback proportions as its predecessor and boasted the same small trunk design — even though its appearance suggested a large liftback aperture.

Power was provided by inline-four engines of gasoline or diesel guise, ranging in displacement from 2.0 to 2.5 liters. Transmissions varied as well, with between three and five speeds, in manual, automatic, or semi-automatic form. Power figures were minimal, staying between 102 and 112 horsepower in all cases except the very rare, limited-production GTi Turbo, which produced 168 horses.

The new model proved an immediate success with the loyal DS buyer. Featuring many of the technological advancements found in the sleek SM (which we’ll also feature eventually), Citroën’s CX was rushed to market, and initial builds had some quality issues. Fixing these problems was a slow process, which is one of the many tales of woe in the saga of CX.

In Part II of Rare Rides Citroën CX Edition, we’ll cover the other issues with the company and the car. We’ll also find out how the CX seen here immigrated to the United States legally in 1987.

[Image: seller]

#1970s #1980s #Citroen #CitroenCx #ClassicCars #CollectorCars #Europe #France #Imports #LuxuryCars #UsedCars #Regulation #Sedans #NewsBlog #RareRides

Corey Lewis

Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Writing things for TTAC since late 2016 from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio. You can find me on Twitter @CoreyLewis86, and I also contribute at Forbes Wheels.

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2 of 34 comments

Lon888 on Oct 03, 2018

I have a friend in the UK who owned one of these and absolutely loved everything about it except one small little detail - the engine electrics would just suddenly shut down leaving him completely stranded. Citroen replaced every piece of electrical kit in that car and it still didn't fix it. He was actually quite sad the day he got rid it - he thought it was the most brilliantly engineered car ever.

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WildcatMatt on Oct 09, 2018

I have two comments: 1) So _that's_ where GM got inspiration for the bubble butt last-gen wagons! 2) Is that car stanced? It looks like the unholy love child of a Fuego and an Integra.

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