Group B Rally, Citroën style..

"Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh" (andymcbradleigh) 02/04/2015 at 12:13 • Filed to: None

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or lack of.. In 1986 Citroën figured they needed to be part of the whole Group B party.. So they developed (read: cobbled together) the mighty (well) BX 4TC.

It was a, well what was it? It was something that looked vaguely like a BX, but with a longitudinally mounted engine, an engine they got from Chrysler Europe (Simca) and slapped a turbo on. And it HAD to be AWD right? Sure, so Citroën made some sort of AWD, that for some reason made the nose heavy car even MORE prone to understeer (unless on full throttle that is). Recipe for success right?

Well, Citroën thought so. But the best result for the 4tc was a sixth place in a single rally (in sweden).

That said and done. I do love the 4tc, I think it looks somewhat cool, and I love the sound/noise the engine makes.. and it does not look half bad thrashing about does it?

KnowsAboutCars > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh 02/04/2015 at 12:23

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Didn't this only compete in three rallies before Group-B was shut down?

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > KnowsAboutCars 02/04/2015 at 12:26

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Correct.

1. Monte Carlo '86

2. Sweden '86

3. Acropolis '86

KnowsAboutCars > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh 02/04/2015 at 12:34

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Interesting, there seems to have been two more rally BXs.

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > KnowsAboutCars 02/04/2015 at 12:37

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I'm sure there was more than two :P The Group B thing just was not any good.. a 4x4 system that was "locked" to constant 50/50 as far as I can remember... I seem to remember that the 4tc fought the driver in every corner.

KnowsAboutCars > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh 02/04/2015 at 12:44

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There certainly might be. And now I'm looking at pictures of old Citroen racing cars instead of doing something more important. Thanks, I guess!

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > KnowsAboutCars 02/04/2015 at 12:47

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Whatever you do, DO not SEARCH for DS rally cars, I repeat DO not SEARCH for DS RALLY CARS.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh 02/04/2015 at 14:30

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I live dangerously. I am also done being productive for the day.

Saoul-Virage > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh 02/04/2015 at 15:20

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BX owner here, thanks for your article, even the shittiest Group B rally car deserve some honor.

Like all Group B car, they had to produced 200 road legal cars to have homologation, so if you're lucky enough you could see some hardcore "Citroenist" driving them in historic rally :

904 GTS > Saoul-Virage 02/05/2015 at 00:47

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A dear friend bought a Brand New BX for his Gp B collection. Still has it today. Interestingly, this particular model today just has to be THE RAREST of all Gp B homologation cars. The reason, although 200 were built to be eligible, the road going examples were so incredibly unusual in every way, with their superbly cushy interiors, front and rear seats, including upholstery. from the standard car. they were easily overlooked by enthusiasts. Its steering wheel inverted V-spokes placed at 9 and 6 o'clock positions did bring questions too. But the strangest of it all, was the qually unbelievable hydraulic suspension functions. After a drive, the first thought came to mind - surely, its hydraulic lines, to prevent dive under braking and squat under acceleration. had been installed incorrectly. Clearly reversed, as the car would dive unbelievably under even light braking and squat strongly upon acceleration. When the car was taken to Citroen Service to have both quite anoying conditions corrected, the most unusual position of those steering wheel spokes was explained to be indeed in the right position for the left hand to be near the rocker turn signal switch placed at the upper left hand corner of a large, rectangular instrument panel. But, of course! Of course, the suspension was operating as designed as well for it had to dive, to transfer the weight to the front, for the rear to slide as easy as possible, for easier cornering. And the squat, just the reverse, to load the rear axle, for better traction at the rear while accelerating... Voila! No wonder but a few were actually sold. When later enquiry was placed about the faith of the remaining cars, sadly, he learned the rest, some 180 or so examples, had been scrapped, for insurance reasons. Therefore, the Citroen BX GpB is undoubtedly THE RAREST of them all!

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > Saoul-Virage 02/05/2015 at 04:10

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I've seen one in real life, I was traveling on the E18 through Sweden and suddenly Citroën BX 4tc coming the other way. My non-carenthusiast buddies couldn't fathom what I was freaking out about :P

Saoul-Virage > 904 GTS 02/05/2015 at 12:03

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Road going BX 4TC have the same interior (sort of blue seat, very comfy) as a BX Sport like mine :)

Citroen didn't sell all of the 200 BX 4TC, at the end they lower the price (like 40 or 50% discount) and even with that they never sold all of them. But then, Citroen decided to scrap the 4TC (some people say they even offer owner to buy back their 4TC to scrap it).

About the strange suspension setup, that's a nice fact I didn't know.