Citroën – The Complete Story

Graham Wilson, the G Section Registrar of the Citroën Car Club UK wrote to mention a new book “Citroën The Complete Story”.   In this new view on the Citroën story, automotive/aviation writer and design specialist Lance Cole investigates not just the details of the cars of Citroen, but the aeronautical and cultural origins that lay behind Citroën’s form and function.  The book digs deep into the ethos of Automobiles Citroën to create a narrative on one of the greatest car manufacturers in history.  Using interviews, translations, archive documents and specially-commissioned photographs, the Citroën journey is cast in a fresh perspective.  It explains in detail the influences upon Citroën design: Voisin, Lefebrve, Bertoni, Boulanger, Mages, Opron and recent Citroën designers such as Coco, Blakeslee and Soubirou.  As well as all the men of the great period of 1920’s – 1970’s expansion, citing less well-known names of Citroën’s French engineering, design, and influence such as Cayla, Gerin, Giret, Harmand, Dargeent and others, to give a full picture of Citroën heritage.

The book provides in-depth analysis of all major Citroën models with an engineering and design focus, profiles key individuals and cars up to the present day (it even mentions the new Cactus) and Citroen’s ‘DS’-branded resurgence and features many newly commissioned photographs, rare archive drawings and interviews with Citroën owners.

Citroen - The Complete Story

It’s published in the UK by the Crowood Press Ltd: ISBN 978 1 84797 659 8 and is for sale on Amazon’s website.   It is list priced at $59.95 US.
The data Lance has produced on GS aerodynamics is very interesting, as is the text on its safety – something that is rarely mentioned in the classic car world.

Speaking of the GS, Graham reports that the most recent data available and compiled from more than one source (after a lot of work done by him) indicates how many GS/As are still legally be on the road in the UK.  It’s not that many:

–  GS  = about 48 that can be legally driven on the road.  This figure has been fairly stable since 2001
–  GSA = about  36 that can be legally driven on the road.  This figure has dropped from 139 in 2001

Graham H Wilson GS in Citroen The Complete Story

2 comments

  1. Hi Graham – I am writing from Melbourne Australia and can vouch for the brilliance of the GS personally ! We had one which did One Million.Miles and was still getting around 40 mpg when we sold it ! We never had any trouble at all with anything ! I used to take out the distributor to tune it with a dowsing pendulum . The best thing was the brilliance of having the oil filter on the TOP of the engine and I found a cheaper oil filter that would fit . Many cat owners need to be careful as when the car settles the cat would be flattened .I regret not having a Citroen now ! Any other car is like having a primitive biro instead of a fountain pen .!

  2. I have always loved the design of the GS! I wanted one, but It was never imported to the US. My neighbor, Bill Lonseth, here in Portland, Oregon had a blue one that he often drove around town. One winter someone lost control in the snow and ran into it while it was parked! It was never the same, since parts are hard to find in the U.S.!
    I would often leave my ID-19 overnight in the High Suspension setting where it would stay UP for days. One time I left my cup of coffee on the roof and forgot it was there. I drove to the local market to buy some things and the car was so smooth that the cup was still on the roof when I got back home.
    The spheres were charged by Terry Keeton in Texas back in the day.

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