- Citroen’s 1973 GS was rare, thirsty, expensive, and almost deliberately erased forever.
- Broad Arrow also offers a 1970 M35 prototype that paved the way for the GS Birotor.
- Both rare cars could theoretically be yours for around $50,000 before auction fees.
The 1970s rotary gold rush persuaded everyone from GM to Mercedes that pistons were old news. Citroen jumped aboard too, only to eventually decide its rotary GS was something it would rather forget. It even tried buying the cars back so it could destroy them.
Related: Citroen’s Iconic 2CV Is Coming Back As A $17,000 EV
Fortunately, some owners didn’t cooperate. One of the survivors is this 1973 GS Birotor being offered without reserve by Broad Arrow at The Quail Auction, where its $20,000 to $30,000 estimate makes it look suspiciously affordable among Monterey Car Week‘s seven-figure exotica.
1973 Citroën GS Birotor
The regular GS was already wilfully unconventional, with slippery styling and Citroen’s famous hydropneumatic suspension. It was deservedly named European Car of the Year in 1971. But through Comotor, its rotary joint venture with Germany’s NSU, Citroen stuffed in a twin-rotor Wankel derived from the technology used in the NSU Ro 80. The 2.0-liter unit produced 105 hp (106 PS) and drove through a three-speed semi-automatic transmission.
Unfortunately, the Birotor arrived just as the 1973 oil crisis made thirsty cars about as fashionable as narrow-leg pants. It was also enormously expensive, costing almost as much as Citroen’s grander DS. Just 847 were built before more conservative Peugeot took control of troubled Citroen and decided the rotary experiment wasn’t worth supporting.
Citroen Tried To Buy Them Back
But the new bosses went further than merely axing the Birotor. Rather than keep supplying parts for a tiny population of troublesome cars, Citroen attempted to buy Birotors back and scrap them. Broad Arrow says roughly 250 are thought to survive today. This example formerly belonged to the Mullin Automotive Museum and shows an incredible 1,080 miles (1,740 km).
1973 Citroën GS Birotor
Broad Arrow
Buy The M35 Prototype
But for Citroen geeks, this Monterey find gets even more tempting. Because Broad Arrow is also auctioning a 1970 M35 (see bottom two galleries), the road-going laboratory that preceded the Birotor. Its unusual Heuliez-built 2+2 body hides hydropneumatic suspension and a tiny 995 cc single-rotor Wankel.
1970 Citroën M35
Broad Arrow
Citroen built only 267 M35s, loaning examples to selected customers who effectively became development drivers. It later bought back and destroyed many of those too. This Mullin Museum alumnus has covered 11,600 miles (18,704 km) and is estimated to fetch $30,000 to $40,000.
So while collectors nearby fight over another million-dollar Porsche, you could conceivably spend around $50,000 and take home two incredibly rare survivors from one of Citroen’s wildest engineering dead ends. Check out the GS listing here, and the M35’s here.
1970 Citroën M35
