Citroen BX 1.6 TXS

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The sharply styled BX came from the pen of Marcello Gandini of Bertone, made famous for styling the impossibly gorgeous Lamborghini Miura, the outrageous Countach, the iconic Lancia Stratos and the first of the uber-cool BMW 5-series.

Launched at the foot of the Eiffel Tour in 1982, it replaced the GS range of air-cooled Citroens and was to remain in production until 1994 when it was superseded by the more conventional Xantia. In all, just over 2.3 million found customers, the car sharing the floorpan and engine line-up from its cousin, the Peugeot 405.

It was launched in the UK with the advertising campaign ‘Loves driving, hates garages’ in a bid to distance itself from the older GS model which had a reputation for high maintenance costs due to its complexity. Not that the BX was straightforward, carrying over the hydro-pneumatic suspension, four-wheel hydraulically powered disc brakes as well as a number of breakthroughs in the use of plastics for the bonnet, tailgate and bumpers.

A hugely popular choice when new, it appealed to the fleet user thanks to its high level of specification and the fact that it was something a bit different from the usual repmobile.

This 1.6-litre TXS was purchased new by the vendor’s father who kept it until he stopped driving a year or so ago. They took it on, thinking that it would be a useful second car, but in reality it has not been used and so they have decided that it is time to move on. Well specified and with just 49,000 miles on the clock, it carries a few battle scars here and there but is in sound original condition having just passed its MOT which expires in April 2016.

According to the website ‘how many left’, 181,000 BXs in total were taxed and on the UK roads in 1995. This figure has dwindled to just 585 actually in regular use of which just seven are the 1.6 TXS model on offer here, making this low mileage example an extremely rare sight on the roads today.

Catalogue amendment: Bidders are advised that the Estimate has been revised on this lot. This car has covered 46,300 miles and not 49,000 as catalogued.