Citroen Hydropneumatique 1954 - 2018 +++ An attempt at a tribute thread +++ Caution: André's Asylum inside!

[SierraMikeHotel]

A hydraulic Citroen on a track?  I think I can help you with that.

 

 

This was a parade lap so I was probably doing 30mph or less to produce that impressive level of tilt.

 

I like comfy cars, but everything on the market today is engineered for sportiness.  Shame.

[forddeliveryboy]

There appears to be a sort of unsaid implication that cars which heel a bit through slow corners are soggy and floppy in the roadholding/handling department. I've yet to find anything better suited than a CX for travelling stupidly fast while maintaining composure, they're sharp and pinpoint accurate at speed.

 

How much grip can be fed into tyres and how smoothly and evenly they're loaded, both front to back as well as side to side is what counts. Most of this sporty-sprung stuff is crap at high speed.

[iainrcz]

If I was past my late 30s, and already bald I'd probably have gone for something french and wafty.

As it is I'm 37 and going bald and in denial.

So I bought a small Peugeot with suspension so hard it shakes the fillings out of your teeth.

 

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[Tadhg Tiogar]

If I was past my late 30s, and already bald I'd probably have gone for something french and wafty.

As it is I'm 37 and going bald and in denial...

For the record, I'm 46, going very thin between my double crown, and have gone all French and wafty after all those German cars....

 

Why fight it?

[iainrcz]

For the record, I'm 46, going very thin between my double crown, and have gone all French and wafty after all those German cars....

 

Why fight it?

Well my last properly wafty car was my 406.

Then had 2 407s which are as wafty as being on a concrete slab.

Then bought a 508 GT, which was comfier but still hard.

Then decided my spine needed more of a pounding so got the RCZ.

 

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[Tadhg Tiogar]

.....Then decided my spine needed more of a pounding so got the RCZ....

The slightly modified 635 I had did a fair degree of damage to my lower back and spine over the years. I couldn't do that now.

[iainrcz]

To be fair to it, the seats are fantastic.

You just have to avoid lumps and potholes.

The slightly modified 635 I had did a fair degree of damage to my lower back and spine over the years. I couldn't do that now.

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[Zelandeth]

I thought I'd got over the power and speed phase...then I got the Activa.

 

Though at the same time, I do also have the Lada. That is actually surprisingly good at comfy wafting so long as you're below 50mph or so...it gets a bit frenetic above that.

 

Invacar character remains to be seen...

 

The contrast between the Lada and Activa just amuses me.

[robinmasters]

...wise words...

You're quite right. Comfort, personalisation, and integration with electronic devices will be (already are) the main selling points.

 

It's the comfort that's relevant to this thread though, and I can't see hydropneumatics surviving. Electro-magnetic dampers (dealing with the springing too before long) are what's going to happen. Infinitely adjustable bump and rebound should be capable of producing a car that doesn't move as the road surface varies beneath it. Before consumers accept a car that stays entirely flat, all the time, suspension systems will have an electronic map that defines their characteristics; a bone-shaking hard ride on 'sporting' cars, a bit more wallow in cars sold as comfortable.

 

I've had a number of hydropneumatic cars, and they've by far outperformed their steel-sprung equivalents(ie. I'm not comparing a Xantia with a Jag).

[alcyonecorporation]