1971 Citroen GS

Citroën GS (Saloon/Estate), 1970-1979

The Citroën GS was in production from 1970-1979. Styled in house by Robert Opron, it is a front-engine, front wheel drive saloon range seating up to 4 adults.

The GS was developed to occupy a middle ground that Citroën's range had left exposed to competitors - between the family friendly Ami and the expensive ID19. Fifteen years without a presence in this market had been spent well - but while fourteen of them had been spent developing the GS, they had left the playing field in the most profitable sector open to rivals such as Peugeot, Renault and - though Citroën subsequently bought it out - Panhard. The GS used a flat four engine of either 1015cc or 1220cc depending upon model, and was available as a saloon, a five door estate or a three door estate-based van. A hatchback layout was considered too utilitarian, but the bootspace on offer was large partly as the spare wheel lived under the bonnet, but also because it utilised Citroën's hydropneumatic suspension which saved both space and weight while improving ride comfort. A variant with a twin rotor rotary engine was also trialled but the GS Birotor was both too expensive and thirsty, and the model was dropped. These can be identified by a wider track and flared front wheel arches.

There were four trim levels - the base Spécial, the mid range Club, the sporting GS X and the plush Pallas. The latter two were saloon only. Citroën would replace the GS range with the GSA in 1979 - giving it the hatchback many felt it had long deserved.

Europe was not short of eccentric family cars during the 1970s. Britain could offer the Austin Allegro as a GS rival, using a simplified but still interconnected suspension system and with the added innovation of a spare steering wheel hiding those easily-trusted Mini components. Meanwhile, Italy's Alfasud was highly rated as the best front wheel drive chassis in the world. But if neither of these appealed and you courted the ideal of the conventional, the Volkswagen K70 and Morris Marina would have been ideal candidates, to say nothing of the Ford Cortina and Vauxhall Viva.