If it is difficult to imagine that the final CX departed the factory in 1991, it is nearly impossible to believe that the model first entered production a full 50 years ago. The CX was Citroën's last entirely in-house creation, and that it still looks contemporary is a testament to its designer, Robert Opron, and the vision of the double-chevron marque.
The oldest member of our quintet today is also believed to be the earliest surviving UK-market CX. To look at Philip Hanson's 1975 2200 Super is to marvel at its impact on motorists five decades ago.
At that time, the Triumph 2500S was a highly agreeable car, but its Michelotti styling harked back to the early 1960s. Meanwhile, the Vauxhall Ventora FE epitomised pseudo-Americana, the Ford Granada Ghia revelled in its conventionalism and rumours were already circulating about the SD1 successor to the Rover 2200 TC.
Then there was the CX. Beneath its lithe silhouette were front-wheel drive, a transverse engine - a first for Citroën - and self-levelling hydropneumatic suspension, plus a 'cyclops eye' speedometer. Your dealer could boast it was 1975's European Car of the Year, while one advertisement proclaimed: "The car of the year is the best car for the job - now and for the years ahead.' There was even a conventional brake pedal in place of the 'mushroom', although that 'STOP' warning light was slightly disconcerting.
Naturally, in the great Citroën tradition, little was straightforward about its development. Work commenced at the end of the 1960s on Projet L, and Opron reflected that it needed to be easier to build in mass production than the DS.
In addition, Citroën collaborated with Lancia between 1970 and 1973, but plans for cross-pollination between the CX and the Gamma came to nothing. By 1974, the famous marque had become part of the Peugeot empire, following years of financial challenges.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der November 2024-Ausgabe von Classic & Sports Car.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der November 2024-Ausgabe von Classic & Sports Car.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Mick WALSH
'Had someone said that this worn-looking titan would win the most famous old-car event, we would have laughed'
ALFA ROMEO STELVIO QF
Rewriting the rulebook on what an SUV can do, and how it can make you feel
FLOATING INTO THE FUTURE
Citroën's DS-replacing CX was at a cutting edge so sharp it still looks fresh today, and it had the drive to match - as five superb survivors reveal
"It's a car for posing in really"
Broadcaster Michael Buerk reflects on more than three decades with his beloved Jaguar E-type S1 3.8 fixed-head coupé
HONDAS DECK THE HALL
The Japanese firm's Los Angeles collection is now on public display for the first time in two decades
ABSOLUTELY buzzing
Honda's Si Civics brought agile, cheap fun to motorists long before the Type R name got anywhere near a hatchback
THE FEMININE TOUCH
In 1955, General Motors styling guru Harley Earl brought 11 talented women into the male-dominated world of automotive design. What was their lasting impact?
Out on a limb
Panther's innovative Solo 2 was something completely different, both for its maker and the sports car market
Restyles with substance
Panther Westwinds blended a passion for pre-war designs with modern-era mechanical usability and remarkably fine coachbuilding
Dead ringers
The Maserati Kyalami and De Tomaso Longchamp share much, having emerged from the same stable, but are poles apart at heart