1989 Citroën CX GTi Turbo 2

This wonderful Citroen CX GTI Turbo 2 started life as a company car. Its first owner was so enamored with it, and the two became so synonymous, that he was allowed to keep it on his retirement. It belonged to him for 24 years in all, during which time he had it serviced every year at the Citroen main agent and then renowned Citroen specialists B.L. Autos, even when he was only covering a few hundred miles a year. Always garaged, it was kept in stunning condition thanks to his money-no-object attitude to the car he had come to love.

When the first owner finally decided to part with it about 7 years ago, it was taken on by B.L. Autos who understood how good it was. Now in the care of a serial classic car collector (who has now owned it twice…), it has continued to have far too much time and money lavished on it. Fresh from being worked on by Citroen specialist, Brodie Engineering, Stuart, the top man there, described it as “possibly the best one left”, which is as fulsome a praise as you could ever hope for.

Completely original, it has an incredible service history. Now reluctantly offered for sale, this is a rare opportunity to drive one of the last, if not the last, great Citroens.

It’s a shark on wheels, a piece of moving modern art and one of the most beautiful cars of the late twentieth century – and its bodywork is in incredible condition, being shiny and free of the sort of rust, rot, ripples and other problems that the breed is notorious for.

The Meteor Grey paintwork shows its lines off to perfection, and the minimal adornments let the purity of the original shape shine through. It is staggeringly lovely.

The shut-lines are still original, and the doors open and close easily. The current owner once removed the interior trim on one door to see what it looked like from the inside; he found that the plastic waterproof sheet was still intact and had never been removed, so he buttoned it all up and left it as it is.

The paintwork is largely original and free of dinks, scratches and scuffs, although the vendor has had some localized repairs done a few years back in order to keep it looking good. (Please see the receipt from Kennington Motors for details of the extent of the work that was carried out.)

This restorative work has developed a few tiny microblisters on the roof panel’s paintwork, so if you think you can see rust bubbles on there then please be reassured that they aren’t! Remarkable given the reputation of a CX for poor resistance to rust that a barely-visible blemish is all we can tell you about. This can only be a carefully owned, garage-stored example. Of course, if you doubt us then you are very welcome to pop along to see the car here at The Market HQ. We’ll make you a brew while you crawl all over it; if nothing else, you’ll be able to tell your grandchildren that you saw the very best of the very last of the UK-registered CX GTI Turbos.

The metric TRX alloy wheels, complete with twin ‘T’-for-turbo detailing, have been refurbished and are in good shape. They’re shod with the correct Michelin TRX tyres too, all of which have good tread. The only work to do is limited to replacing the rear tyres as the ones that are fitted are getting a bit old.

The cloth seats are in amazingly good condition; they’re taut and supportive and free of anything some vulgar as rips, tears and other damage. The black and white pattern they’re finished in is sharp but not gaudy; like the bright silk lining on a Savile Row suit, it hints at rakishness without descending into vulgarity.

The headlining is even more sombre but in perfect condition, as are the door cards. The electric windows and mirrors work well, and the sunroof opens and closes easily and seals tightly against the elements.

The dials might be the later, more conventional type, but just look at them. Utterly gorgeous, and just in case you think Citroen might have sold out in order to woo those buyers who might have previously bought a BMW or an Audi, can we just point out the single-spoke steering wheel complete with ‘TURBO’ lettering? Or the bonkers-but-effective controls for the indicators, lights and wipers? Or the vertical radio? Or the weird little map-reading light that lives in the passenger’s footwell? Or the neat line of crosses that bisect the gearknob? It really is a symphony of gallic eccentricity, and all the more wonderful for it.

More importantly, it all still works in there, which is nothing short of miraculous given the reputation old Citroens have for being somewhat laissez-faire in their attitude to shunting electrons around in an orderly fashion. This is partly due to the way the car has been used and stored but also due to the way it has been maintained; the original Blaupunkt Atlanta SQR 47 radio-cassette, for example, has been refurbished – and when did you last hear of that happening?

Even the backlit buttons still light up as they should, and the sunblinds still furl and unfurl properly. In fact, the interior feels incredibly robust, being almost Germanic in its build quality, which goes to prove that old Citroens make an awful lot of sense, as long as you buy the right one. Like this example.

Work to do is limited to sorting out the external air temperature gauge that you can see on the far right of the digital binnacle. It is showing as an open loop, so needs fettling out. As does the non-operative air-conditioning. The pump kicks in as it should, so it might be a fairly easy job to coax it back into life.

B.L. Autos (and if you know Citroens then you’ll know how knowledgeable they are) has confirmed it is solid - and that includes notorious areas such as the longerons and the triple-skin sunroof, areas where the CX always rusts.

The owner tells us that it runs beautifully, always starting on the third rotation of the engine, even after months of inactivity. It also, he says, “goes like stink”, which is hardly surprising as it was said to be the world’s fastest saloon car at one time.

The hydropneumatic suspension operates as it should rising smartly when you turn the engine on and giving the famous ‘magic carpet’ ride that is a Citroen trademark, or, as the owner puts it, “it smothers roads and has no rattles, creaks or vibrations, it feels just a year old”.

It’s a simple system, no matter what you might have heard to the contrary, and just needs some straightforward routine maintenance from someone who knows what they’re doing to keep it running properly and reliably. Folk like B. L. Autos and Brodie Engineering. You know, the guys who’ve been looking after it for decades.

The high-pressure anti-lock brakes work well, although those new to the marque will need to note that they operate on pedal pressure rather than travel. They still stop the old girl on a sixpence, and are probably the most powerful of any car of its generation.

The engine bay is nicely presented but would benefit from a day spent cleaning and detailing it. Bizarrely, it’s home to the (freshly-refurbished) spare wheel, too - plus a spare can of LHM hydraulic fluid; like dragons, hydropneumatically suspended Citroens bleed green. Oh, and the bonnet is held open via coiled flat springs, which is a completely unnecessary touch but typical of the thoroughness with which Citroen designed its cars back-in-the-day.

The underside is clean and has been neatly undersealed to protect it against the elements. It was clearly done to a high quality as the car is in great shape under there.

It was last serviced in August of this year by Brodie Engineering, who also welded the exhaust for the MOT and sorted out a slightly erratic idle. But that was all that was required after a 50-mile test drive and a thorough checkover – why it might just be in better condition than most of the preserved lower mileage examples around.

The online MOT history shows nothing of concern whatsoever and confirms the car’s mileage. The MOT certificate itself expires in July 2020.

The car comes with 15 stamps in the ‘book, a number of expired MOT certificates plus a thick sheaf of invoices and bills that confirm that this car has been properly serviced all of its life. It also comes with two sets of keys, the original owner’s handbook, a stamped service history booklet, a plastic Citroen wallet that contains the usual bumf, and the guide for the Blaupunkt Atlanta stereo.

There are also some classic car magazines that feature the model, plus quite a number of period brochures.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained to the very highest standard.

You, like us, have probably always lusted after a big Citroen. But you, like almost everyone else, have always been too scared to pull the trigger and actually buy one.

That was a mistake. One of us used to run a fleet of them, and even contributed to The Citroenian, the owner’s club magazine, at one time. Another owns this very car, so we know the breed and we know what it takes to run one – and our decades of experience with the marque add up to just the one simple fact: if you look after them properly, they’re as reliable as any modern classic car.

As long as you buy a good ‘un, that is. And this is a very good one indeed. Remember what Stuart of Brodie Engineering said of it? And trust us, he is not a man who throws compliments around like confetti.

Best of all, you can buy this ultra-original, fully sorted, rust-free example for peanuts; how much, we don’t know because the owner has such faith in you lot that he’s offering it on a no reserve basis, which means it’ll sell from the very first bid.

So, why not pop in a cheeky bid? After all, the very worst that can happen is that you’ll find yourself owning “possibly the best” Citroen CX GTi in Britain.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car can be seen here at The Market HQ in Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings of any auction, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles we have for sale. While we use our trade experience to assess every car that comes through our hands (and between us we have bought hundreds of classic cars over the years for our personal use…) we are fallible, and our assessment of a car may contrast with that you might form yourself.

This is why we offer a far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange a professional inspection on their behalf of, each vehicle prior to bidding than any traditional car auction, and we will never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this by coming to see it in person.

That said, we do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or those formed as a result of a long test drive.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.