Why the gs mattered

it brought refinement to the small car market

A shrunken CX with a flat-four engine, the GS offered small car buyers untold levels of refinement – thanks to high-pressure hydraulic suspension and brakes. The Austin Allegro was the only car to approach its ride/handling sophistication.

it was styled by the late robert opron

Opron, who would later find fame for his work shaping Citroën’s seminal SM, signed off the GS as an undoubted homage to Pininfarina’s Aerodynamica studies for the BMC 1100 and 1800. Those frustrated by British conservatism could buy the closest thing to the Aerodynamica at a Citroën showroom; no wonder the GS won Car of The Year in 1970.

it was nearly the first wankel-engined french car

Had the oil crisis not hit, the GS Birotor – powered by license-built Comotor Wankel engines – may have brought pistonless motoring to Europe. In the end, Citroën built 847 Birotors before recalling and crushing most of them.

it created a new rollsroyce nameplate

Rolls-Royce’s 1975 Camargue got its name from a stalled Bertone proposal to build a GS coupé; according to Citroën resource, Citroënet, R-R is said to have paid ‘a considerable sum’ for the intellectual rights to the Camargue name.

its engine helped aspiring racing drivers

Single-seater MEP X27 racing cars used GS engines in a special race series; with further development, GS flat-fours went on to power such diverse cars as the Romanian Oltcit and Axel range in the Eighties.