Mon Dieu - there's a BX GTI 16-valve for sale
Citroen's 160hp BX was always rare, and is now basically extinct. But not completely...
It’s easy to be a little despondent about French hot hatches in 2024. Once masters of the genre, it now seems a long way down the list of priorities for the Gallic manufacturers. Peugeot, despite recent very good GTIs and Peugeot Sport Engineered cars, isn’t interested in pursuing performance models going forward. Citroen is making some funky stuff, no doubt, but nothing fast. Thank goodness, then, for the Renault 5 E-Tech and Alpine A290 - no pressure folks, however it does all rest on you now. All the right things are being said, so let’s hope that the peerless reputation of French hot hatches can survive the transition to electric.
It wasn’t always the case, of course. When the hot hatch was enjoying its glory days and the French makers really were at the top of their game, there were really good cars that just weren’t very popular. Imagine that. The junior Peugeot XS and XSIs found buyers, though it always seemed like the GTIs outsold them. The Citroen Xsara VTS was good, but not as good as the 306 GTI-6. It’s sometimes hard to remember that there was a quick Clio that wasn’t a Williams. And who could forget the Citroen BX GTI?
Well, plenty of people as it goes - even when it was new. The BX was all about cushy comfort with its advanced suspension and commodious cabin. Even with some sporty add-ons, it never really screamed hot hatch. And image is everything with this type of car. Yet Citroen persisted, and actually made what was considered by most accounts a very nice car to drive. There were even, amazingly enough, two variants, an eight-valve and a 16-valve. The former boasted 125hp and would surely have been the more popular model; after all, the 160hp car shared its engine with the Peugeot 405 Mi16. For many, the choice there would have been clear.
Thank goodness, though, that a few people did go for the Citroen, because it makes a fascinating specimen more than 30 years later. Let’s be grateful, too, that this wasn’t a donor car for an engine swap. Totally understandable back then, of course, when one of these and a 205 could have been picked up for a few hundred quid each - and who wouldn’t want a 160hp GTI? - but it isn’t half nice these days to see a survivor.
Not just any survivor, either, but a 16v BX with just three owners and fewer than 50,000 miles to its name. Moreover, while left-hand drive could sometimes be seen as a drawback, a life spent in Spain - the Citroen only came to the UK last year - should mean it’s been kept in a dry climate since 1992. The seller says it’s all original (perhaps the stripe was a Spanish market option) and benefits from a recent timing belt and water pump. Certainly it looks fabulous, though it’s hardly like there are many other BXs around now to compare it to. The fact that details like the pinstriping and seat bolsters are as good as they are is encouraging, as is the suggestion the Citroen was often garaged.
And what does £10k buy in classic hot hatch land now? Precious little, really, and next to nothing with so few miles. Probably a BX GTI will require a little more TLC than some of its contemporaries, though the knowledge and enthusiasm is most definitely out there. They were much loved cars, for very good reason. Now’s a very rare opportunity to find out why.
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