Hatch Heaven

in 1982, Citroen introduced the special edition Visa Drapeau, which was one of four “collector” cars that included the Platinum, the Cote D’Azur, the Drapeau and the Pallas SE. The 5-door hatchback Visa Drapeau made a dashing appearance with racy red and blue stripes on a white base, and had alloy wheels, tinted glass, a laminated windscreen and headrests. It even got 58 MPG.

Connoisseurs assez special editions as objectively as any other collector’s piece. Attractive they must be. Good value, lasting value and critically acknowledged value is also essential. So with this in mind, in 1982, Citroen introduced the Visa Platinum, which was one of four special edition cars that included the Cote D’Azur, the Drapeau and the Pallas SE. The Platinum has a strikingly classic metallic pearl grey body with a thin double stripe of royal blue. It had alloy wheels, tinted glass all around, a laminated windscreen and headrests. It was powered by the efficient Super E engine that gave it the best performance and aerodynamics figures in its class.

The 1985 Citroen BX costs £453 less than a Volvo five-door 340DL, listing at £5,199. It had self-leveling suspension for a silky ride and MacPherson struts for sharp handling. This 5-seat, 5-door hatchback with a 1360cc engine, capable of reaching 96MPH. It was promoted as only needing 2.5 hours of servicing a year.

The 1985 front wheel drive Citroen Visa 11E is a five-door hatchback who’s MSRP was £4,117, which was £489 less than the Ford Fiesta Plus 1.1. It was unusually roomy with a very well-equiped interior. It was promoted as only needing 2.5 hours of servicing a year.

1985 Citroen LNA 11E listed for £3,526. That was £448 less than a Austin Rover Metro City. With its easy starting 1124 cc engine, it had lively performance and a small turning circle for navigating tight corners. It had a comfortable interior with split folding seats to accommodate bulky loads.

The 1980 Citroen GSA had something that was unique to Citroen: hydropneumatic, self-leveling suspension. Instantly, when a blow-out occurs, this system compensates for the shift in the balance of the car, so it could be steered and driven almost as though nothing had happened. This 5-door hatchback had a 1300 cc engine and was mated to a 5-speed gearbox making it capable of 100 mph.

Citroën is unleashing a hot new DS3 at the Geneva Motor Show – the limited edition 200hp DS3 Racing. Developed by Citroën Racing – the winning team behind five WRC manufacturer’s titles and six driver’s titles for Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena – DS3 Racing is a special edition with a 100% sporting pedigree. Planned for the second half of 2010, the exclusive DS3 Racing will be limited to just 1000 production units. Read the rest of this story on Cartype.