Citroen BX Sport 1985
Discussion
I've been running a BX 16V for a bit over two years now and a BX 4X4 GTI for over a year. Previously I've run CX Safaris for the last twenty years clocking up 450,000 miles in them. The BXs have been great fun though not as reliable as the CXs…But I have clocked up 35,000 miles in the 16V. Its appeared at odd times in various Pistonheads threads.
However I had been thinking about getting a BX Sport which was the first truly fast BX which was only available in continental Europe due to it being LHD only. The BX Sport used two twin choke Solex carbs instead of fuel injection combined with a specially developed cylinder head and cam to produce 126bhp but most importantly a really flat torque curve. And a rather wild body kit unlike anything else used on BXs. It was first built in a limited edition of 1500 cars, eventually 7500 cars were built before it was superseded by the BX GTI. I'd been watching ads on leboncoin which is where you can find many obscure French cars… How about a 4X4 AX? But back to BX Sports…
Many of the best ones are in the south of France which makes collection harder. I saw a promising one advertised in northern France just before Xmas but it sold very quickly. Found what looked to be a good one in the Netherlands but it was too expensive and a bit scabby. With BXs the most important thing to look out for is RUST. The Dutch car had no serious holes but some bubbling in the windscreen surround was a bit worrying. It generally drove very nicely confirming my wanting one… However lack of summer tyres and low oil pressure combined with the price made it not a car for me. Found some more promising ones on leboncoin and with the help of a BXclub.co.uk forum member who speaks fluent French arranged to see a couple of cars, one near Dieppe and one near Reims. The first car near Dieppe looked very good despite crappy photos with lots of recent replacement parts and most importantly what appeared to be a rust-free shell. And it was a very early car, number 483. The second car I just managed to view and drive after my Xantia Activa burst a high pressure hose… The photos had looked beautiful but new paint covered everything and when driven felt very loose, the engine misfired badly and the car showed signs of very haphazard maintenance. To my mind there was no contest.
A week later I was back to collect the first car. It drove the best of the three – nice and tight with a smooth torquey motor. I took N roads up to the Eurotunnel mostly in bright sun and out of the tunnel into the UK in pouring rain. Next day I drove it back to Wales – it nearly didn't get there under its own steam – about three miles from home in Wales the red hydraulic warning light came on. Having had hydraulic failures I thought it would make it and it did just. But the overall impression on the second day was excellent with a really lusty engine though it was boomy in the 70–80mph range just as had been complained of in one of the original road tests. But it had proved very economical – 34mpg compared to the 22mpg achieved in the original test!
The next day:
and the cause of the hydraulic leak
a broken pipe from the pump.
It was collected by the Citroen specialist (thanks Andrew and Tony) that does all the work on my Citroens on Tuesday. It needs a few items sorted out – the windscreen washer did not work, the door mirrors need sorting, there's rattle which is probably a drop link needs sorting, headlamps need to be swapped for RHD ones and an MOT needs to be obtained before it can be registered in the UK. It will be at least a couple of weeks probably more like four before UK registration is possible.
However I had been thinking about getting a BX Sport which was the first truly fast BX which was only available in continental Europe due to it being LHD only. The BX Sport used two twin choke Solex carbs instead of fuel injection combined with a specially developed cylinder head and cam to produce 126bhp but most importantly a really flat torque curve. And a rather wild body kit unlike anything else used on BXs. It was first built in a limited edition of 1500 cars, eventually 7500 cars were built before it was superseded by the BX GTI. I'd been watching ads on leboncoin which is where you can find many obscure French cars… How about a 4X4 AX? But back to BX Sports…
Many of the best ones are in the south of France which makes collection harder. I saw a promising one advertised in northern France just before Xmas but it sold very quickly. Found what looked to be a good one in the Netherlands but it was too expensive and a bit scabby. With BXs the most important thing to look out for is RUST. The Dutch car had no serious holes but some bubbling in the windscreen surround was a bit worrying. It generally drove very nicely confirming my wanting one… However lack of summer tyres and low oil pressure combined with the price made it not a car for me. Found some more promising ones on leboncoin and with the help of a BXclub.co.uk forum member who speaks fluent French arranged to see a couple of cars, one near Dieppe and one near Reims. The first car near Dieppe looked very good despite crappy photos with lots of recent replacement parts and most importantly what appeared to be a rust-free shell. And it was a very early car, number 483. The second car I just managed to view and drive after my Xantia Activa burst a high pressure hose… The photos had looked beautiful but new paint covered everything and when driven felt very loose, the engine misfired badly and the car showed signs of very haphazard maintenance. To my mind there was no contest.
A week later I was back to collect the first car. It drove the best of the three – nice and tight with a smooth torquey motor. I took N roads up to the Eurotunnel mostly in bright sun and out of the tunnel into the UK in pouring rain. Next day I drove it back to Wales – it nearly didn't get there under its own steam – about three miles from home in Wales the red hydraulic warning light came on. Having had hydraulic failures I thought it would make it and it did just. But the overall impression on the second day was excellent with a really lusty engine though it was boomy in the 70–80mph range just as had been complained of in one of the original road tests. But it had proved very economical – 34mpg compared to the 22mpg achieved in the original test!
The next day:
and the cause of the hydraulic leak
a broken pipe from the pump.
It was collected by the Citroen specialist (thanks Andrew and Tony) that does all the work on my Citroens on Tuesday. It needs a few items sorted out – the windscreen washer did not work, the door mirrors need sorting, there's rattle which is probably a drop link needs sorting, headlamps need to be swapped for RHD ones and an MOT needs to be obtained before it can be registered in the UK. It will be at least a couple of weeks probably more like four before UK registration is possible.
ciaranthemurph said:
What other Citroens do you have at the moment?
Xantia Activa, Visa GTI, AX GTI… and of course the BX16V and BX 4X4 GTI. There's pic of the Xantia in one of the winter pic threads and the Visa in I think photo location threads. The 16V also features in a thread or two.CarlosV8 said:
That's amazing! I have fond memories of going out in my Grandfather's BX 19 GT as a kid, and have owned a 16v or 2 myself, so I'll always have a soft spot for them. Hope the MOT goes well and there's no more leaks!
Did you really have a GT? The one with the digital dashboard? I haven't anyone else who has owned one of these.driverrob said:
Did you really have a GT? The one with the digital dashboard? I haven't anyone else who has owned one of these.
I've got one in the garage belonging to my Dad 
There are a few around, not many more though. Though I think you might be thinking of the "Digit" model, which was a GT with a digi-dash. The GT had analog dials, though some had a trip computer.driverrob said:
Did you really have a GT? The one with the digital dashboard? I haven't anyone else who has owned one of these.
I don't recall it having a digital dash, I think it was just the plain GT model, not the Digit that Kitchski mentions. I'll try and dig out some old photos though just in case my Grandfather is cooler than I thought 
driverrob said:
Yep, Kitchski is right. It was called the GT Digit. (It was a long time ago)
Good car, very advanced, technically, but lacked the rust-proofing and plastic panels of the GTi so (mine) rusted to hell before it was 6 years old.
Rust proofing was no different to the GTI other than plastic coated suspension pipes. Same number of plastic panels too, you must have just been unlucky! It was also just called the Digit. GT was a different model, though the Digit was heavily based on it.Good car, very advanced, technically, but lacked the rust-proofing and plastic panels of the GTi so (mine) rusted to hell before it was 6 years old.
Well the BX Sport now has a MOT with no serious problems so can be registered. It needed the washers sorted, the HP pipe from pump replaced and a strut return pipe done. My initial impressions have been confirmed by Andrew of Tony Weston Cars (they have serviced and done all the work on my Citroens since 1994) that it is a genuine low mileage BX. Even the suspension pipes are all original and in very good condition and the underside is excellent and untouched. There's some evidence of the odd bump or two being repaired – you'd certainly expect that on an ex-Paris car. There's a few small jobs to do before I pick it up but I am relieved that it seems to be excellent with just a few small jobs to be completed. Its getting a proper service and checkover with the drivers door window, door mirrors, some odd electrical glitches, carburettor tuning to be sorted. It had a lot of work done in 2009 – new clutch, new Dunlop tyres, a radius arm bearing, drop link, suspension spheres, discs and serviced. And by the time it got be back to Wales had scarcely done 1000km since the work in 2009.
I've ordered the car import pack from the DVLA and need to complete a NOVA form on the HMRC website – there shouldn't be any tax to pay on it. And then the registration can be done. Hopefully by the end of next week I should now be collecting and fixing the plates…
I've ordered the car import pack from the DVLA and need to complete a NOVA form on the HMRC website – there shouldn't be any tax to pay on it. And then the registration can be done. Hopefully by the end of next week I should now be collecting and fixing the plates…
Its taken a while to get it registered even though we had the correct paperwork – why does the DVLA need to have the original registration document when copies of all the other documents will do?
Whatever I went and collected the Sport from Tony and Andrew Weston the day before yesterday. The drive back was lovely – I took the B4235 from Chepstow over to Usk which is a charming road I now know well. The Sport was so smooth, it's quite a bit softer than either the 16V or GTI 4x4 but is exceptionally well damped. And now both front electric windows work, the mirrors are sorted and the carbs have been tuned which have made a big difference, it idles beautifully and pulls very strongly without any flat spots or hiccups. I can really see why it was an instant success In France. Taking a critical eye at the paint it needs some scratches touched up and there's small dent in one of the rear doors – but what do you expect of a car that has lived most of its life in Paris…
But this first proper drive – I now had the confidence to give it some welly – Andrew Weston had given it close inspection, confirmed my first impressions that this was really quite special. The Sport is a fascinating animal – the engine has two twin choke 40 addhe Solex carbs – the same as fitted to some classic Alfas, and has masses of grunt from 2000 rpm right up to the red line at 6500. The torque curve Citroen published for this engine confirms this impression – its almost perfectly flat. This is so different from the 16v which has to be constantly revved… And where everything happens above 4500rpm. The Westons took the car to a local carb specialist to tune the carbs – its come back running much better. It now idles smoothly at under 1000rpm and revs without any flat spots or hiccups. It had been regularly serviced at Citroen main agents in France but I think the skill of tuning two twin choke carbs has been lost at most garages and is now restricted to specialists. The carburettor tuning has also made it quite a bit smoother and less boomy.
Yesterday I took it out for a blast on the B4560 Beaufort–Llangynidr mountain road which is my favourite local road. I discovered it handling wise it has a bit more understeer than the 16v, you don't gun it in the corners to promote understeer, a light throttle is much better. The Sport though hangs on beautifully – its just that it definitely needs a different approach. In the tight hairpins its easier than the 16v for the torque masks the lack of an ideal gear. In the first hairpin up from Llangynidr the 16v either bogs down a bit in second or has run put of breath in 1st. The Sport just powered through in 2nd. And on the fast section on top the Sport looses very little to the 16v despite having 35bhp less… However the Sport is more of grand tourer than the 16v – the engine is distinctly more refined but at the same time is not so exciting. And its ride is much more Citroen like than the 16v. You can just imagine wafting along the Route Nationales in the Sport in the same way that the 16v is the ideal weapon for the alpine passes.
I can really now see why the Sport was an instant success in France and on the continent. At the time the Sport was launched in Europe the official reason Citroen gave for no right-hand drive version was that the exhaust manifold made it impossible to get a RHD rack in. I think its more likely they were selling all they could make. Citroen were originally going to make just 2500 – this one is no 463 but demand was such that they then made a further 5000 examples. But a back-to-back comparison with an 8v GTi would be very interesting. I am not sure the fuel injected GTI was really an improvement but it used the same engine as the 1.9 205 GTI and of course was far easier to get it to conform to emissions legislation.
And now for some pics from the B4560 yesterday. There was another thread on Piston heads recently which was asking for good photo locations in Wales – the B4560 Beaufort mountain road is superb…
Whatever I went and collected the Sport from Tony and Andrew Weston the day before yesterday. The drive back was lovely – I took the B4235 from Chepstow over to Usk which is a charming road I now know well. The Sport was so smooth, it's quite a bit softer than either the 16V or GTI 4x4 but is exceptionally well damped. And now both front electric windows work, the mirrors are sorted and the carbs have been tuned which have made a big difference, it idles beautifully and pulls very strongly without any flat spots or hiccups. I can really see why it was an instant success In France. Taking a critical eye at the paint it needs some scratches touched up and there's small dent in one of the rear doors – but what do you expect of a car that has lived most of its life in Paris…
But this first proper drive – I now had the confidence to give it some welly – Andrew Weston had given it close inspection, confirmed my first impressions that this was really quite special. The Sport is a fascinating animal – the engine has two twin choke 40 addhe Solex carbs – the same as fitted to some classic Alfas, and has masses of grunt from 2000 rpm right up to the red line at 6500. The torque curve Citroen published for this engine confirms this impression – its almost perfectly flat. This is so different from the 16v which has to be constantly revved… And where everything happens above 4500rpm. The Westons took the car to a local carb specialist to tune the carbs – its come back running much better. It now idles smoothly at under 1000rpm and revs without any flat spots or hiccups. It had been regularly serviced at Citroen main agents in France but I think the skill of tuning two twin choke carbs has been lost at most garages and is now restricted to specialists. The carburettor tuning has also made it quite a bit smoother and less boomy.
Yesterday I took it out for a blast on the B4560 Beaufort–Llangynidr mountain road which is my favourite local road. I discovered it handling wise it has a bit more understeer than the 16v, you don't gun it in the corners to promote understeer, a light throttle is much better. The Sport though hangs on beautifully – its just that it definitely needs a different approach. In the tight hairpins its easier than the 16v for the torque masks the lack of an ideal gear. In the first hairpin up from Llangynidr the 16v either bogs down a bit in second or has run put of breath in 1st. The Sport just powered through in 2nd. And on the fast section on top the Sport looses very little to the 16v despite having 35bhp less… However the Sport is more of grand tourer than the 16v – the engine is distinctly more refined but at the same time is not so exciting. And its ride is much more Citroen like than the 16v. You can just imagine wafting along the Route Nationales in the Sport in the same way that the 16v is the ideal weapon for the alpine passes.
I can really now see why the Sport was an instant success in France and on the continent. At the time the Sport was launched in Europe the official reason Citroen gave for no right-hand drive version was that the exhaust manifold made it impossible to get a RHD rack in. I think its more likely they were selling all they could make. Citroen were originally going to make just 2500 – this one is no 463 but demand was such that they then made a further 5000 examples. But a back-to-back comparison with an 8v GTi would be very interesting. I am not sure the fuel injected GTI was really an improvement but it used the same engine as the 1.9 205 GTI and of course was far easier to get it to conform to emissions legislation.
And now for some pics from the B4560 yesterday. There was another thread on Piston heads recently which was asking for good photo locations in Wales – the B4560 Beaufort mountain road is superb…
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff