1987 Citroen BX4TC
Citroen’s constitution is synonymous with adventure and exploring the farthest reaches of the globe, so it was only fitting that the marque would dive head first into the world of competition motorsport in the mid-1960’s. This passion and desire for adventure carried directly into motorsport, with their engineering prowess and innovative designs, Citroen very quickly found themselves basking in success on the international rally stage.
Carrying the motorsport torch through the 1970’s was the Citroen SM, based on the luxurious Citroen DS, the SM shared similar aerodynamic and futuristic bodywork, while retaining the unorthodox, and innovative hydropneumatic suspension and steering that the DS was lauded for. What seemed an unlikely candidate for rally success proved otherwise, and on its inaugural outing in 1971, the SM stormed to victory at the arduous Rallye du Maroc. With the SM, Citroen had the ultimate stress-test for their hydropneumatic suspension and steering system, allowing for continuous development and refinement at the hands of the world's most demanding rally stages through the mid-70’s. However, this success would not be sufficient to sustain Citroen as an individual company, and it was in 1976 that the successful and adventurous brand was acquired by Peugeot.
Birthed on the back of the merger with Peugeot was the Citroen BX, sharing the platform and powertrain directly from the Peugeot 405. Citroen, ever innovative, turned to Marcello Gandini at Bertone to design the lightweight, sporty, and economical small family car. In parallel, Citroen, still ever present in motorsports, saw the success that Peugeot was having with their Group B special 205 Turbo T16 and decided to get in on the Group B action themselves, and thus Citroen Competition was tasked with the project.
Despite lacking funding to mirror Peugeot’s efforts, the Citroen Competition team, at the veteran hands of Guy Verrier, were determined to stretch their francs when it came to development of their Group B car. A majority of mechanical aspects of the rally car relied heavily on borrowing from Peugeot Sport, such as a longitudinally mounted Chrysler/Simca turbocharged 2.1L four cylinder engine and a five-speed manual transmission from the Citroen SM, while the Citroen Competition team was confident that compromise could be negated with Citroen’s sophisticated hydropneumatic suspension and lightning quick steering. And thus, homologation of the Group B rally car began in October of 1985, with a planned production of 200 road-going variants to meet FIA requirements, and the intention to race in the 1986 season.
The BX4TC’s Group B career, turning wheels in anger at a total of 3 races, and earning a best result of 6th place in the 1986 Swedish Rally, before the series was banned by the FIA. With the end of Group B simultaneously came Citroen abruptly ending production of the road-going BX4TC cars, leaving only 62 total cars sold to the public while Citroen ordered all remaining BX4TC’s in-production, or sitting at dealers, to be dismantled and scrapped. It is understood that only around 30 road-going examples escaped this fate and remain today, immediately catapulting the BX4TC to the status of being the rarest road-going Group B homologation car ever produced.
The Cultivated Collector’s 1987 Citroen BX4TC is a time capsule of the marque’s Group B efforts. Today, chassis 0069 has traveled only 53,200KM from new and remains a numbers matching and highly original example of the supposed 30 remaining BX4TC cars,. Originally sold new in Paris, 0069 escaped the fate of many other BX4TC’s and remained road-registered with its first caretaker until 2000. Retaining its original French registration license plates to this day, all subsequent caretakers of 0069 paid close, and meticulous, attention to technical condition and regular maintenance. Recent major service includes a flush of all fluids, new clutch, as well as timing belt. One of the most attainable relics of the Group B era, the BX4TC and its story is an alluring part of Group B history that cannot be looked over.
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