1986 Citroën CX 25 GTi Turbo

We recently sold what we think is the best Citroen CX GTI Turbo in the United Kingdom, so it’s a bit of a coup for us to now be able to offer you another.

In fact, as an ultra-rare metal-bumper, non-sunroof car with just two previous owners and fewer than 25,000 miles on the clock, many of you might even think it’s much better…

The current owner is a serial CX enthusiast who owns three at the moment but struggles to find the time to use them properly; he has been obsessed with them since he was a child as his dad ran them as the family cars, a stroke of genius that puts him in prime position for a Father Of The Year award.

In storage between 1998 and 2016, it is in need of only minor cosmetic tidying after being fettled by Brodie Engineering, probably the country’s leading Citroen specialists, this is your chance to bid on what is almost certainly the lowest mileage and most original example for sale in the country today.

And, best of all, it’s being sold with a very sensible reserve, so if you’ve ever fancied having a CX in your life, why not pop in a cheeky bid and see what happens?

The car presents very well, and the work that has been done to it over the years looks to have been limited to only localized repairs. The panel fit is good, and the doors, boot and bonnet all open easily and fit well. The flanks are free of ripples and there is no significant rust whatsoever.

You only have to dig a little to discover that the CX is stuffed full of intriguing details, like the concave rear window and the Perspex infills that sit underneath the rear spoiler to better direct the airflow.

The rare metal-bumpered turbo cars were only in production for around six months, which makes them very hard to find and hugely desirable. That this example is a non-sunroof car is another bonus; the sunroof had no rustproofing whatsoever, so they rusted badly from day one. This is a real problem today and a badly corroded sunroof can write a car off, so the absence of such a troublesome area is something to celebrate.

The other usual rust hotspots like the lower edge of the bonnet and boot lid and the lower sections of the doors are all clear, too. It really is in remarkable shape. Look really closely and there are signs of a previous repair many years ago to the front nearside wing.

Front Cibie front fog lights give the car a wonderfully Gallic touch, the refurbished ‘T’-slotted alloy wheels are in good shape, and the tyres are matched across the axle. As new/old stock, the original Michelins are hard to find and hideously expensive when you do. The alloys ideally need their contrast darker details painted in.

Work to do is really limited to freshening up the details; there is a dink near the driver’s door handle, some microblisters here and there, e.g. near the fuel filler cap and nearside front wing, some overspray on the underside of the rear spoiler, a misaligned front indicator/sidelight, and a scuffed front rubber quarter bumper.

Being an early model the seats are pillowy soft and very Citroen in both look and feel. They’re in good shape and don’t have any damage, although it is clear that the material has sagged a little over the years.

However, please don’t think this is indicative of a car that has been driven hard and put away wet, because it hasn’t: one example of the care it has received over the years is the presence of the blue protective plastic film on the chrome door trims on the sills; while the one of the driver’s side is almost still intact, the one on the passenger side is like new. It’s incredible that they’ve survived as they have and they are just one of the details that go to the heart of this low-mileage, two-owner-from-new car.

And, just like the exterior, the interior is typically Citroen-quirky. Details like the ‘trigger pull’ interior door release, wonderfully ornate door speaker grilles, round door pockets, rear sunblinds, and dashboard-mounted controls make every drive an experience; it’s so lovely and well thought out in there that we think this wonderfully original example will make you smile every single time you drive it - and how many cars can you say that of?

A modern-ish Pioneer stereo is fitted, but because the rest of the interior is so wonderful we can see that the car’s new owner might want to source something more appropriate and of-the-period.

The car also comes with a complete kit to retro-fit it with air-conditioning. The kit even includes a replacement centre console, and thus fitted the new owner would find themselves in possession of the ultimate specification Citroen CX GTI Turbo: metal bumper, non-sunroof, and an early, non-intercooled engine.

And just look at how the centre console is gloriously topped by a large ashtray, ready for the remnants of numerous large packets of Gauloises!

Problems are limited to the need to repair or replace the headlining as the original is sagging, refitting the front nearside window seal, and the need to sort one of the rear electrically operated windows as it doesn’t work. The good news is that everything else we have tested in there does!

The slam panel has some light surface rust, and the engine bay is a bit grubby. Having said that, as least you know it’s original and hasn’t suffered a front-end impact; fresh paintwork here and nowhere else, along with a newly valeted engine, should always raise alarm bells…

As a Series One car, the engine was tuned for low-down torque rather than the S2’s top-end power; the lack of an intercooler means that Citroen could fit a bigger turbo as it spooled up more quickly, which makes for much more relaxed driving in the real world. Stuart, the main man at Brodie Engineering and an acknowledged expert on the marque, is a huge fan of the early cars, and says he would choose one over one of the later Turbo 2’s every time: “it feels like driving a bigger engined car rather than a turbocharged one”, he said. “In a Turbo 2 there’s little power below 3,000rpm, so you’re nearly always in the wrong gear, while in a Turbo 1 that’s never an issue.”

The car drives well, and while Stuart has fitted new front suspension spheres the slightly harsh ride (still more comfortable than almost anything else!) makes us suspect that it might benefit from new suspension spheres on the rear too. This is a simple and fairly cheap job.

David, the car’s owner, had Stuart of Brodie Engineering recommission the car when he first bought it three years ago. The work was straightforward – fit a fresh fuel filter, clean out the fuel tank, fit a new battery and check a few electrical connections – after which it fired straight up. It was then submitted for an MOT to see what it needed, and Stuart was amazed that, apart from the need for an exhaust and new tyres which he knew about, it only needed some bulbs and wiper blades.

Are you starting to see what we mean when we say that the CX can be as reliable as any other car if it’s looked after properly?

It starts well, and the suspension rises as it should, both lowering and raising on command. The front to rear suspension pipes have been replaced too, which is a big job and one that the new owner no longer has to worry about. In his investigations, Stuart confirms that there is absolutely no rot underneath, it is all ready for decades of further service.

The engine shows good oil pressure, and the gauges work as they should. The exhaust is a new custom-made stainless steel item (at a cost of around £1,200 plus VAT…) and the underside of the car has been very neatly undersealed.

In fact, Stuart says that the only job still on the To Do list is to drive it…

The Citroen’s online MOT history doesn’t show anything of any concern and the MOT certificate itself expires in September 2020. It comes with a few old MOT certificates; these, along with its provenance, lead us to believe that the mileage is genuine.

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage – then please contact us to arrange an appointment.

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 is a mistake. One of us used to run a fleet of them and even contributed to The Citreonean, the owner’s club magazine, at one time. Another owned a CX GTI Turbo, 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 – and with just two previous owners and fewer than 25,000 miles, it’s an interesting and highly original example of the breed, too. With fewer than 12 examples believed to have survived in the UK, this is a rare opportunity to buy a “misunderstood and under-rated” car, as Stuart of Brodie Engineering puts it.

And, best of all, you might be able to buy this ultra-original, ultra-low mileage, two-owner-from-new, 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 with a sensible reserve.

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.