There is a term within the motoring world that can almost immediately raise the eyebrow of any true car aficionado, a term used to describe vehicles with sporting glory at their forefront, only to be dialled back down from 11 to a modest 9.5 for mere mortals to experience. Whether it’s a Le Mans contender-turned-grocery-getter, or, in this case, a family saloon built to battle it out with some of rallying icons, homologation specials truly are a special breed. This Citroën BX 4 TC may not have been the most successful in its day, nor did it ever truly get a chance to prove itself, but its character and rarity makes it an incredible piece of motorsport history, and one that shines among a wealth of incredible French delights heading to Aguttes on Wheels’ Spring sale in Paris on March 16h.
The concept of a sporty BX began three years prior to the release of the 4 TC in 1983, and more specifically at the Rallye des 1000 Pistes, where alongside the factory-led Citroën Visas, an unlikely BX 4x4 prepared by Politecnic enters the rally. While Citroën’s executives keep one eye on the rally-prepped saloon, behind the scenes, an ‘in-house’ version was also being developed for an official entry the brand in the World Rally Championship at Group B level for the 1985 season. By this point, Group B was all anyone with even the slightest of interesting in motorsport could talk about, with events taking place all over the world that consistently drew in thousands of risk-taking fans all eager to get a face-full of dirt. Audi, Ford, Lancia, Mazda, Peugeot, Renault, brands from all over the world were hell-bent on claiming the title, and Citroën needed to be not only competitive, but quick to bring themselves up to speed on this high-octane discipline.
It was this speed, or lack of speed, that ultimately led to the BX 4 TC’s downfall. After delays in the car’s development, and the car finally being homologated by the FISA on 1 January 1986, its rallying career was already off to a bumpy start, and not the good kind given its rally ambitions. In order to obtain homologation, the Citroën had to produce 200 examples, which were fitted with a 2.1-litre turbocharged engine which developing 200 horsepower, and complete with four-wheel drive. The adventure abruptly turned into a nightmare after Group B was discontinued at the end of the 1986 season, following tragedies in Portugal and Corsica. The result was a mere 86 examples were sold, and the surplus 114 were destroyed by Citroën under bailiff's supervision.
Those unfortunate circumstances enable survivors such as this a true rarity. With so few cars being created in the first place, this example goes one step further in the rare category, having been exported to Switzerland in April of 1986, where it was never registered and was used simply as a display piece in a collector’s garage for many years. It was acquired by its second owner in 2007, and has since racked up a mere 2,800 kilometres, making it surely one of the lowest mileage examples in existence. Now boasting a general overhaul and an injection tune-up, your chance to relive one of rallying’s heroes almost 40 years to the day is upon you!
Paris, 16 Mar
