Citroën GS
The Citroën GS is a sedan and wagon that was manufactured between 1970 and 1980 by French car manufacturer Citroen. A later and more advanced version of the Citroën GS was also manufactured between 1979 and 1986, which was named Citroën GSA. In 1971, the Citroën GS won the Car of The Year Award and was among the most technologically equipped cars of the era. It also featured high end comfort features that drove massive sales and earned the model a reputation. The aerodynamics were also perfect and better safety features were included in models made from 1979.
History of the Citroën GS
There was an enormous gap between the Citroën GS and models like the 2CV as well as AMI economy cars. The company also had a luxurious version, the DS Executive sedan, which was a fair competitor of the Citroën GS. The DS moved upmarket, thereby leaving a gap in the market for more than 10 years, which the Citroën GS sought to fill. From prototype design to launch, it took 14 years to complete the development of the Citroën GS. In 1956, Citroën designed a small bubble car that would take the place of the 2CV and DS. This prototype had much to be done and it took several amendments and ideas from leading experts at Citroën to come up with a solid design that would later be released for the market in 1970. The Citroën GS, therefore, was launched in August, 1970 and came as a four-door saloon, which later introduced a three lateral windows version.
The aerodynamics of the car offered a good drag coefficient compared to many vehicles of the era and its competitors like the Fiat 128, Vauxhall Viva and Ford Escort. There were complaints that the car was not well powered, so in 1972, Citroën introduced a new version, which came with a 1,222 cc engine. The power output increased from 55 bhp to 60 bhp and the torque levels were upped to match the more powerful engine. Visually, the Citroën GS did not resemble any car at the time until 1974 when the Citroën CX, which was larger, was developed. Additionally, the Citroën GS came with a unique engine, a flat-4 engine, which was air cooled. There were several small engines in the range of 1015, 1129 and 1299 that had a power output of between 54 and 66 horsepower. The car used a manual four-speed gearbox as well as a 3-speed automatic that was later used in the Citroën C-Matic.
Citroën GS Birotor
The GS Birotor, which was launched in 1973, came with a better powered engine that offered 109 horsepower and was produced by a joint project between Comotor and NSU-Citroën. The Birotor version was luxurious and its ride quality was complemented by the hydropneumatic suspension, not forgetting it was among the most fuel efficient models made by the company in that era.