A Citroën BX 4TC Evolution, official rally car entered in Group B in 1986, will be auctioned on October 24, 2021 in Paris. It was driven by Jean-Claude Andruet then kept at the Manoir de l’Automobile de Lohéac. Only a handful of copies remain.
The 2021 edition of the Automobiles on the Fields auction of the Artcurial house will give pride of place, among other things, to a few notable rally cars. Alongside a Subaru Impreza driven by McRae, Vatanen and Burns or a factory Alpine A110 “mule” for example, it will be possible to get your hands on a Citroën BX 4TC Evolution from 1986. In the mid-1980s , the manufacturers were engaged in a battle as bitter as it was prestigious in the famous Group B in rallying, a category which allowed the most extreme mechanical preparations while requiring that racing cars be declined in production models. This made the cars in question showcases of sporting know-how for their brands. Citroën tried its luck in 1986 with this BX which no longer had much to do with the original one.
Forgotten Group B
The Citroën 4TC Evolution is powered by a turbocharged 380 hp four-cylinder engine derived from that of the Peugeot 505 Turbo, itself from Chrysler. This engine is associated with a disengageable all-wheel drive via a lever. In between is a Citroën SM gearbox. The engine is installed in a longitudinal position at the front, and not transverse as on a classic BX, hence the elongated front overhang and the installation of the radiators at the rear, with among other consequences a much greater weight distribution on the front axle than on a BX of large series. The 4TC Evolution is equipped with an oleopneumatic suspension. But, although this one is effective according to Jean-Claude Andruet who piloted the specimen of the sale in competition, the results were hardly encouraging during the three tests contested by the BX.
The murderer Group B was arrested after the 1986 championship and unlike some of its Audi or Lancia badged rivals, the BX 4TC Evolution fell into oblivion for many. Its 200 hp road version without the “Evolution” suffix, of which 200 were planned, only sold a few dozen units.
A museum piece
The car in question here has chassis n ° 18. Twenty Evolution versions were planned at the time; less than ten would exist today. It was acquired at the end of the 1980s by Michel Hommell and Olivier Quesnel, then kept since in their Manoir de l’Automobile de Lohéac, which therefore continues to sell its rally cars. In excellent condition, the BX is estimated between € 250,000 and € 350,000. The sale will take place on October 24, 2021 in Paris.
