Vehicle Description
1969 Citroen D21 Luxe Station Wagon
French automobile designer Andre Citroen was, in many ways, a man
far ahead of his time. His second car design, the Citroen Type C,
is widely recognized as the first mass-produced European automobile
and his founding of a consumer finance company allowing his product
to be sold on credit to customers opened a previously untapped
market and is a concept that carries forward almost a century
later. Citroen was also something of a maverick when it came to the
use of technical innovations and overall design of his cars.
For consignment, in its elegant insect like shape we give you a
1969 Citroen D21 Luxe Station Wagon. Hydropneumatic suspension,
disc brakes and a 4 speed manual transmission, you are in the mind
of the mid engined, front wheel driver, designed by Flaminio
Bertoni. All in very nice condition, probably the smoothest ride
you will experience, and plenty of cargo or passenger space which
can be converted in a snap.
Exterior
In all its organic form, we seetwo tone maroon with a gray roofline
and rear tailgate paint. The body panels are just slightly off and
doors hang fairly straight. Save for a trimming that has fallen off
the drivers door, (which is included), the bumpers and trimmings
are nice and shiny, along with the full fledged roof rack adorning
the long sleek roofline. Panoramic glass is there for viewing the
outside as you whisk along very smoothly on those winding back
roads. Encased head lighting leads the way for the wide toned
organically influenced front of the car. A nicely circular curved
bumper frames the bottom of the lead of the car, and the lazy V
shaped hood is nicely rounded. The front glass wraps around
slightly and a chromed mirror hangs off of each door in the front
of the automobile. The long spacious rear storage/fold down dual
jumpseat back of the car tends to square off a bit and as it turns
to light gray we see vertical oriented tail lighting on either
corner presenting in Dixie cupped red, yellow and white lights. A
simple straight bumper is on the back and remains nice and shiny,
and the tailgate lifts easily for plenty of rear access. The car
floats on 185R15 redline tires covered by chromed squared off dog
dish style wheel coverings.
Interior
Dee-esse means goddess, and inside we can experience some more
heavenly curves starting with the door panels. Here we see shiny
maroon painted steel uppers and lowers, all rust free. Inside this
steel frame are some futuristic armrests fashioned from black
vinyl. An interesting door handle is positioned on the upper front
of each door and takes a bit of getting accustomed to for its
operation. The window crank is here too also with a white plastic
attached storage tray. Climbing inside over the wide sill we can
take a seat in nicely preserved black vinyl two individual seat
benches with intricate multi position headrests. These are finished
with a nice tuck and roll black and white square pattern tweed
inserts. A long rear bench stretches from door to second door in
back and presents in the same pattern, only with no headrests. This
bench can be folded down for a clear open storage space for plenty
of gear. Also the back space opens up to reveal two jump seats that
can accommodate more passengers. Upfront, the angled dash presents
very easy to read and reach for various controls at the touch of a
button. An interesting single arm steering wheel comes about from
the column and is a typical Citroen feature which is very
futuristic looking. A horizontal AC unit hangs from the bottom of
the dash and hovers over a sea of clean black carpeting, and above
is a nice tight mold cloth covered headliner.
Drivetrain
Under that wide hood resides a 132.7 ci 4 cylinder engine. It is in
an unrestored but clean engine bay, has a 1-barrel carburetor on
top and a 4-speed manual transmission on back with a 4.38 frozen
drive axle. The spare tire resides here as well front and center
under the hood.
Undercarriage
Underneath we see plenty of patina steel undercarriage. There are
some invasive rusted areas on the rockers, causing some concern for
structural stability. Most of the undercarriage is steel coverings
due to no drive shaft making its way to the back. Some green
colored "bomb" like structures are in each wheel providing the
hydropneumatic ride. Disc braking is on front and drums for the
rear. The exhaust is a bit surface rusted as is the factory style
muffler underneath.
Drive-Ability
I slipped in with much anticipation as these cars are always a
blast from the past to drive and this car fired right up, and after
allowing the suspension to lift me to the proper ride height I was
off like a french dress. The car ran and shifted smoothly, had a
flawless ride, and shifting was very smooth and easy. A round brake
pedal is just a bit unusual to get used to but it does stop the car
on a dime. The head and tail lights were not functioning, as was
the horn and clock were not working. There was a slight scrape from
the single arm which holds the rounded steering wheel, presumably
scraping on the column mounting, but it was very slight.
Very organic and much like it takes most of its inspiration from
the bug world, this quirky but interesting piece of French
innovation is up for the taking here in our Hallowed Halls. Se
BON!
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 850 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display. This vehicle is located in our
showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just
1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The
website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888)
227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come
see the vehicle in person.
