Comments by "Lynott Parris" (@DenUitvreter) on "American Learns About the Unique u0026 Strange Citroen 2CV" video.
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Citroen was so forward thinking it switched to front wheel drive in 1930's. They made all the rest instantly backward with the DS in 1955. Top Gear's James May did a nice 5 minute item on it's spectacular innovations.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_jtj6S8zZg
Also very special is the Citroen SM from 1971, it was a sleak coupe with a Maserati engine. It's marvellous and very forward thinking too, the issue is that the earlier DS left so little uncharted territory, so little room for further innovation. Same for the later CX. The C6 was the last proper Citroen with the hydropneumatic system, also a luxury car. The Xantia V6 Activa deserves a special mention because it had active suspension in the mid 90's and could go around the corners very fast with no roll at all.
Citroens nor the 2CV aren't normal or regular in Europe either, there were a lot of them but they were always different, excentric. Most were sold in France, the Netherlands has the most Citroen lovers relatively, in Germany and Britain they weren't very popular, admired maybe, but not bought very much.
The hydropneumatic system did the suspension, the brakes, the power steering and the semi automatic, but the suspension was so good that Rolls Royce payed royalties to use it on it's rear axles for comfort, and Mercedes used it for the entire suspension on it's 450 SEL 6.9 litre, it's super expensive top model that was twice as expensive as the top of the line up to then, the 450 SEL 4.5 litre, and about the same price as a Rolls Royce.
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