CITROEN

GS

The CITROEN GS was unveiled at the Rennes factory on August 26, 1970 and presented at the Paris Motor Show that October, slotting into the gap between the small 2CV/Ami and the executive DS. The CITROEN GS broke convention with an air-cooled flat-four boxer engine mounted at the front, paired with a simplified version of the famous hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension inherited from the DS. This gave the CITROEN GS a ride quality far above anything else in its class. Styled in-house by Robert Opron, the aerodynamic fastback body of the CITROEN GS achieved an impressive drag coefficient of around 0.318, remarkably low for a family car of the period. The CITROEN GS was crowned European Car of the Year in 1971, beating the Renault 12 and Peugeot 304. Between 1973 and 1975 Citroen offered the rare CITROEN GS Birotor, fitted with a twin-rotor Wankel engine; only 847 were built, making the Birotor one of the most sought-after collector versions of the CITROEN GS today. In 1979 the CITROEN GS evolved into the GSA, adopting a proper five-door hatchback tailgate, a restyled nose with plastic bumpers and a futuristic dashboard. The CITROEN GS and GSA together combined comfort, innovation and aerodynamic efficiency, and remain icons of Citroen's golden age of engineering.