CITROËN 100 YEARS ANNIVERSARY RALLY

The Citroën Car Club of New Zealand celebrated 100 years of the marque with a wonderfully sunny event in Cambridge on 5–7 April. More than 100 vehicles were in attendance to mark the occasion. The oldest, a 1922 5CV that was rescued from a field in France, was just three years short of a centenary itself.

A strong showing of popular models such as the 2CV, DS, and CX was joined by rarer examples like the Maserati-engined SM, three examples of which took to the field in Cambridge. There was also a strong turnout of the much-loved Traction Avant of Maigret fame, including two sought-after convertibles

and a two-door fixed-head coupé.

Rarest of all, however, must have been the wonderfully original example of the 1929 Citroën Kégresse half-track, which was recently imported to New Zealand. The Kégresse was built from 1921 to 1937 for off-road and military use, and Citroën undertook a series of expeditions throughout Asia, America, and Africa to demonstrate its all-terrain abilities, including a daring, and slow, crossing of the Himalayas. In the 1920s, the US Army purchased several for evaluation and, in 1939, produced a prototype that eventually went into production as the M2 and M3 half-tracks. The Axis forces captured and armoured many of the original Citroën vehicles. Just a handful around the world are thought to be roadworthy.

The Citroën brand has always been a niche manufacturer in New Zealand, but has enjoyed a dedicated following since first being imported in 1920. Waikato Citroën Car Club president and one of the event organizers Ross Malcolm said that more than 170 people had taken part in the various events over the weekend including a gymkhana, a gala dinner, and a pride-of-ownership parade.

“It was with a fair bit of fear and trepidation that the Waikato club undertook to organize this event!” said Ross. “Being a centennial event it needed something special, so we changed the normal programme to conclude our celebrations with the Parade of Cars on Sunday afternoon, and offered the central location of Cambridge to attract more members.

“Citroën importer Auto Distributors made three new vehicles available for viewing and test driving and Citroën Tauranga mounted this display. Quartz Reef Wines was involved in a wine tasting on the Friday night — two high-class products being brought together over the weekend. An interesting observation from the weekend was that the new Citroën suspension is getting very positive comments from some of the old-time Citroën owners.”