Image: Citroen
With deep sadness, French brands seem to have lost their sense of quirkiness and trying desperately to join the crowd of everybody else. If there was ever a simple term to describe the French when it comes to making cars, they always yearned to be different.
One of the pinnacle manufacturers that strived to be different was Citroen. The Paris-based marque brought out some radical models throughout their 102-year history which often came across as strange to the conventional Ford or Volkswagen customer.
For a while, Citroen always strived to be different no matter which marketplace and category they entered in; and coming up now is a list of seven great Citroens which are not only well-remembered by fans of the brand, but quirky in their own little ways.
1. Traction Avant
Image: Citroen
Introduced in 1934, this was a revolutionary car from the French marque that represented a massive leap forward from its more traditional predecessors.
It was front-wheel-drive, sported rack-and-pinion steering (which was pioneering at the time) and had styling that was well ahead of nearly everything else in the early 1930s. It also used a monocoque structure which was virtually unheard of and saved 70kg of steel per car.
Engines came in a variety of sizes from a 1.3 litre 4-cylinder to a 2.9 litre straight six. It was also manufactured in a number of countries, including not only France, but Belgium, Denmark, Germany and even the UK.
The Traction Avant not only represents revolutionary thinking from Citroen, but also what made the industry great: the sense of being different. It was eventually outdated by the mid-1950s whereby it was replaced by (quite literally) a Goddess!
2. 2CV
Image: Citroen
The 2CV is possibly the most iconic Citroen ever to be launched in history. An instantly recognisable shape and capabilities that are still virtually unrivalled to this day.
The idea was that instead of a horse and cart, people could use this ultra-affordable motorcars to transport eggs in a basket without cracking any of them. This is where Citroen's reputation for their incredible utilisation of suspension would prevail.
The 2CV prototypes were made pre-war when they were hidden away from the SS in various parts of the French countryside. After production finally rolled into action in 1948, it lasted well-up until 1990 - making it one of the longest lasting production cars in history!
3. DS
Image: Citroen
Like the Traction Avant, the DS (or Goddess, if you really want to know the true name) was truly revolutionary at the time of release in 1955. Like the Traction Avant, it used some pioneering engineering methods which would make other cars look like a wood stove next to an oven.
The most famous part of the DS is undoubtedly the self-levelling hydropneumatic suspension. A famous story is that a DS saved French president, Charles De Gaulle's life as the car was still able to drive on 3 wheels when making its escape from an attempted assassination.
The DS survived production until 1975, making a total of 20 years of production. It received constant updates throughout its life and all engines were 4-cylinder units ranging from a 1.9 as found in the DS 19 to a 2.3 litre unit as found in the DS 23.
The DS remains a swansong - if not a peak - in French automotive design and engineering. Next to a more conventional Mercedes or Jaguar, it seemed so futuristic and... well, different.
4. SM
Image: Citroen
This was Citroen's attempt at making a personal luxury sports car designed to entice the tastes of a gentleman or playboy. At a cost of £5,000 in the UK, it was right in the firing line of the BMW 3.0 CS, Jaguar E-Type V12, and the Jensen Interceptor.
But as Citroen now had their hands on the iconic Italian marque, Maserati. They now had the opportunity to use one of their powertrains: a 2.7 or 3.0 litre V6 as seen in the Maserati Merak and ultra-rare second generation Quattroporte.
It still used the front-wheel-drive layout and hydropneumatic suspension setup which made the SM a superbly comfortable cruiser that could also tackle 0-60 in just 8.5 seconds! Quick for a heavyweight from the early 1970s.
There were experiments whereby a faster SM with a Maserati V8 would be made, but this was later canned.
5. GS
Image: Citroen
The GS cut a fine line between the supermini (and now slightly outdated) 2CV and the more prestige DS and CX models. The GS was a family saloon designed to compete against the likes of the Ford Escort, Vauxhall Viva and Fiat 128.
It was typically Citroen in its design and engineering quirks and came in an array of flat-4 engines ranging in size, but perhaps the most interesting option was the 2.0 litre Wankel rotary engine which developed 106hp. But this was deemed useless as despite the different thinking, it ended up costing nearly the same as the DS and was only on sale in 1973. Just 847 units of the 'Birotor' were sold.
And that makes it a scarce variant as combined production of both the early GS and later GSA models totalled around 2.5 million.
6. CX
Image: Citroen
The DS enjoyed great success over its 20-year production run, so its successor had to be something special. While the CX didn't have quite the same impact, it was certainly respected in its own right.
Production started in 1974 and it employed the same quirkiness that the DS had. From mad instrument dials to its ultra-smooth hydropneumatic suspension system, the CX was so typically Citroen in its different-ness and production lasted up until 1990 when it was replaced by the XM.
The CX was used a lot for filming horse races due to the unbelievable way it handled rough grounds - making for smooth and uninterrupted shots of jockeys charging for victory.
One distinct change from the DS was the hatchback design: this was inspired from the GS and was supposed to be a larger interpretation of it. It was a fairly popular body style by the mid-1970s as many manufacturers including Rover, Lancia, and Opel were coming out with cars utilising the trend.
7. BX 4TC
Image: Citroen
This is a largely unknown rally car from the 1980s. Everyone raves about the Audi Quatrro, Lancia 037 and MG Metro 6R4, but in 1986, Citroen decided they wanted a piece of the action.
They entered the gruesome Group B category in 1986 with no success. 6th place was the best they could achieve at the Swedish rally. In fact, it only participated in three rallies before the Group B category was pulled due to Henri Toivonen and Sergio Cresto's death after a crash in a Lancia Delta S4 at the 1986 Tour de Corse.
The 4TC road car was built in 200 examples to comply with the FIA's homologation rules. It used a turbocharged version of the 2.1 litre Simca Type 180 engine which made 200bhp and used a 5-speed gearbox from the Citroen SM.
It was four-wheel-drive and still used Citroen's hydropneumatic suspension system. Whilst the 4TC was different thinking in the world of rallying, it was sadly plagued by both bad luck and not really an opportunity to compete.