A Citroën BX with four tons on the counter

A Citroën BX of four tons. Not yet in euros, but the times when you could buy good BXs for 300 guilders are over. Such a 'small big' because hydraulically sprung - Citroën can now sit above the 4.000 euro. The BX from which we got pictures had not cost four tons, he had walked four tons. Drifted even. Because it was a GTI.

And that is of course only right for what Carl Hahn, the then CEO of Volkswagen, called: the "best car of the year in theory".

The BX was groundbreaking. The straight, angular lines that were consistently extended in the exterior as the interior formed a massive break with the smooth lines from the seventies. Around 2,3 million BXs were made during the 12 year of its production. The standard white 1,4 liter versions were for a long time the cheapest 'lease containers' on the market. But time went on and from the third and fourth owners, BXsen got their bad name. Because hydraulically suspended Citroëns, 'les hydrauliques' were very good cars ... When they received their planned maintenance. Lack of maintenance certainly destroys more within your family than you love.

But with normal maintenance is such Citroën BX just as reliable as a Mercedes 200 diesel.

That was proven by the diesel Break of a Gert Kouwenbergen who came to an end because he was impaled on the Lekdijk by the drawbar of a loosely broken trailer. The meanwhile pale red BX had 650.000 km on the clock. He ended his life as a piece of saté on a skewer

French teacher at the Alliance Francaise Sylvia Scholder runs BX from the first day she has a driver's license. She is now in her fifth birthday. The breakdown score in all those years of driving BX? A running right front brake and a broken cooling hose. The longest trip that was made with one of her BXsen went to the former Balkan states.

And an 1400 cc BX? That runs sensibly, without plugs or hybrid hassle 1 on 15. Her BXs have therefore always been in regular maintenance with one of the few small but enthusiastic BX specialists. Those are Citroën enthusiasts with an irrefutable preference for BXsen. They have the knowledge, experience and know the way in the search for shrinking stocks of parts.

We received the accompanying pictures via Sylvia's in-house garage Berben from Ulft.

A BX GTI, the car that was faster and steered better than the legendary Golf 1 GTI. A French car with all the prevailing prejudices. A car that has never been cherished or spared ...

Oh yes: He was brought to Ulft for a fresh MOT and his four hundred thousand kilometer turn. That MOT was no problem. But for next year the brake lines are noted as a point of attention.

The chicken or the egg?

The story goes that the BX is based on a sketch that Marcello Gandine drew for Volvo. It is true that the Volvo 343 Tundra is indeed a twin brother of the Citroën seems. But is a 'timeclash' in the story. The Tundra was presented in March 1979, and that is after Gandini presented his concept for the BX Citroënproposed by the management.

According to Gandini himself, the resemblance was simply time-defined: “They were the lines of the 70s. the Bertone's new trademark. "