CITROËN CX 2400 GTI

Year of manufacture 1979 Recorded mileage 58,000km Asking price £29,995 Vendor Nutley Sports & Prestige Centre, East Sussex TN22 3NN; 01825 713388; nutleysports.co.uk

WHEN IT WAS NEW

Price £7303 Max power 126bhp Max torque 142lb ft 0-60mph 10.3 secs Top speed 119mph Mpg 25

It doesn’t matter their age or origins – or yours, for that matter – some cars have a near-universal stop-and-stare quality. Or, in the case of the magnificently gold Citroën CX you see here, perhaps that should be a sense of je ne sais quoi ? Today, as when the model was launched in August 1974, the successor to the DS has a real sci-fi feel to it. Indeed, even almost half a century on, the late Robert Opron’s styling still looks futuristic – and that’s despite its undeniably ’70s paintjob, matched with an equally period brownvelour-trimmed cabin. The upholstery, switchgear and the rest of the interior appear to be as fresh and bright as the day it left the factory.

The vendor, Nutley Sports & Prestige Centre, claims this Series 1 2400 GTI is one of just 10 remaining in the UK – and reading its history makes you wonder if it is the best-kept example, too. It was delivered new to an André Gilbert in south-west France in December 1979 and one can only assume it was love at first sight, because he kept the CX for around 35 years. The car was always stored in a garage, never driven in the rain and was carefully maintained. Ill health finally forced the CX’S sale in 2014, its second keeper being a Citroën dealer who cared for it in the manner to which it had become accustomed until 2017, when it was imported to the UK.

Being a 2400 GTI, it is powered by a 126bhp, four-cylinder, 2347cc engine, mated to a five-speed manual ’box, and this highly specified left-hand-drive example has air conditioning, electric windows and central locking. The pleasingly understated TRX alloys look to be in fine condition, too. Nutley Sports & Prestige Centre says it will be sold with its original owner’s manual and ‘economical driving manual’, its original service, dealership and emergency leaflets, plus sales brochure, spare keys and, brilliantly, a Norev 1:64 model of a CX finished in the same fabulous Beige Opale metallic.

It is exactly seven years since we published our Citroën CX Buyer’s guide, in which we said: ‘There are already fewer CXS on the road than DSS.’ We can only hope that with the passing of time these big Citroëns will be increasingly cherished, and enthusiasts’ desire and ability to save them rise before it’s too late. Being a fan of classic estates, the Safari holds an especially great appeal for me, but this example’s apparently timewarp condition and gold paint seal the deal. If only I had the means and the garage space…