We’ve seen some strange car hoards, but this could be the weirdest one yet! Barn Finds reader David N sent us a tip about this “collection” of Citroens in the Netherlands. It appears that the owner specializes in restoring and selling Citroen CXs, but that’s just a guess since their site is in Dutch. Given that one of the featured marques at Pebble Beach this year is Postwar Citroens and the fact that this has to be the only CX hoard in the world, at least one can hope, we thought it would be interesting to take a closer look! You can find the seller’s site here.
David doesn’t know the backstory of this hoard, so if any of you happen to know more, please share! It takes a unique individual to amass this many Citroens and I for one would love to learn more about how they collected so many of these. They have 148 cars in total, ranging from the late ’70s up to 1991 models. A surprising number of them are GTis and turbo models, so there might actually be something worth picking up here.
The Citroen CX might not be all that familiar to most of us here in the States, as they were never officially imported to the States. Citroen was planning on selling them here but just prior to doing so, new regulations prohibiting height adjustable suspensions were introduced making it impossible to import them. With about 1.2 million built and sold throughout the rest of the world and a European Car Of The Year award, it seems like we might have actually missed out on a fun car.
I wish it wasn’t so expensive and time-consuming to get one of these cars shipped over to the States, it would be a blast to show up in Monterey, California in one of these. You’d have one of the most unique Citroens there and that’s saying a lot! And you’d be about guaranteed of winning something at the Concours d’Lemons.
Special thanks to David for this tip! If you happen to know more about it, please share in the comments. And if you have a tip on an oddball collection of cars or a cool barn find to share, please submit them via our Tips Tool!
Is there a link to information about the collection or is it just what we see here?
They appear to all have Dutch license plates.
Hi Daryman,
Dutch guy here. You are correct, most of these Citroens have Dutch license plates and looking at the combination of letters and numbers most of the cars were sold new in the Netherlands. Here the plates belong to the car and stay on it when sold or traded in. I saw one that was imported fom Luxembourgh and I assume the other non-Dutch plated cars are imported from mainly France. That ambulance is imported too.
Olaf E
There is another Dutch connection to Citroën CXs and the USA.
After Citroën closed up in the US, some entrepreneurs in Oisterwijk, Holland, saw an opportunity and ‘federalised’ the CX2 for sale in the USA in ’88 and ’89. The cars received a going over before being shipped across the Atlantic. Calling themselves CXAuto they were never approved of by Citroën Corporate who refused them permission to use the Citroen name or the double chevron logo.
I can’t find out how many were sold, (maybe 100?) they weren’t cheap though. They brought over three models of CX2, the GTi, the lwb Prestige, and the Estate.
When the CX was replaced by the XM they brought that over instead, and continued over the high pricing, at $50K they were more expensive than the new Lexus LS400. I’m a Citroën fan, and owner of a CX and BX, but I’d have bought the Lexus. Despite that they sold about fifty XMs.
More info on the excellent Citroënet site and their CX pages…
http://www.citroenet.org.uk/passenger-cars/psa/cx/cx-index.html
and for CXAuto,
http://www.citroenet.org.uk/foreign/usa/88-01.html
Here’s the link: https://www.vansoestklassiekers.nl/collectie/
thanks ghostnote that is quite the collection. most have 100k+ kms some with over 300k kms. That is some mileage in europe.
100k+ kms is not uncommon for cars like these CX`s, neither is 300+. Most were company or lease cars for business men for a period of 2 or 3 years. Thereafter, private drivers were happy to drive these luxury Citroens, especially since they were HEAVILY devaluated in price after 2 or 3 years.
I had a pink CX wagon that would draw a lot of attention on cruise nights. Everyone thought it was bagged because I would roll in at full height and drop it when I was parking. Lots of weird fun. Very strange steering wheel too.
I cut the centers out of 1961 Imperial hub caps and attached them to the wheel centers using 1970’s Cadillac wire wheel hardware.
That ambulance!
Tyler, in Amsterdam they call that one
GeestBrekens
LD71 :D
Do CXs have two running heights? If not, then they’re not height adjustable as the high and low are both service settings.
In mine there was a slide bar and you could set it anywhere you wanted. All the way up and it would ride real bouncy. All the way down and it would ride real harsh. In between it was like gliding on a firm cloud. Speed bumps were nonexistent and it would self level out too. If you jacked the car up on one side, the front tire would go up inside the wheel well instead of hanging down like most cars. Truly an amazing suspension.
no, it’s hydraulic and rides @ 1 hight, stop’n park nother. Look under hood 2 C abuncha green spheres…
I saw a hundred on that site, never knew they had wagons’n stuff like that amb-u-lance.
Thanks Josh!
Hi Josh,
This is an offering from, what I can find, a used car dealer who has specialized in Citroen CX and some other Citroen models, They also offer storage for cars, RV`s and trailers.
I have to say that I am suprised to see so many of the top models are left and that with one guy! You see, during the last crisis in Europe many countries introduced some sort of `cash for demolition-programme` and many cars from the 80`s and 90`s (and I`m afraid also from the 70`s) were send to car heaven.
But, I think that programme has nothing to do with this collection, the guy is just a Citroen (CX) loonatic. There are many Citroen loonatics here in Holland. Till a few years ago there was a guy in my hometown that had over 50 2CV`s in his garage and in his yard, most were running and passed the inspection. The cars in his yard were an `environmental` risk and a cosmetical `eyesore` for the neighbourhood according to the town counsil, so he left.
Olaf E
Some cars are also from Belgium import I saw.
Here’s a excel sheet wit the total overview:
https://s02bd71d4aa249b6d.jimcontent.com/download/version/1525543945/module/9291850385/name/Voorraadlijst%20VanSoest.xls
Hi ,
Here in France we use to say that more than rust,Dutch people are worse for diseapering Citroen from the country
God knows my hoard of Euro cars is a menace to the neighborhood.
Cant people leave the car hoarders of the world alone?
We are the purveyors of coolness that nobody else can maintain.
Chasing us around and whistle blowing to the municiple code nazis
is verrrrry uncool! Shame on you idjots!!
Nicholas Cugnot built the first car!!! Viva la France!!!
I love my Citroens and my Renaults. Just try to take them!!!!!!
I will just keep moving them around!!!! Municipal terrorists!!!
Long live French autos!!!!!
I rescued this 1977 Alpine A310 a while back. I love it .
Gruppe B killed Porsche!! Then of course they banned Gruppe B!!
Well this stash is not really a barn find, nor is there a loony behind it. All these cars where once traded in at Van Soest Cars which have a reputation of maintaining vintage Citroëns like DS and CX. The owner of the business once, erroneously, thought that the CX would go the same way as the DS. So at the time, late 90’s, early 00’s when the CX’s were traded in at prices well below the 1,000 USD he kept on storing them in three, privately owned, former chicken barns, hoping/expecting that these cars would pay for his retirement. Had indeed the CX’s gone the same way the DS did, he had been right, he would have been a millionaire. But, as we all now, the CX didn’t go the same way as the DS. Even worse: there’s still hardly any movement in CX prices. It took Mr. Van Soest sr. quite a while to realise that his pension fund was actually costing him money, so, about two or three years ago the decision has been made to sell them unrestored. And slowly, but surely, they’re all being sold for prices between € 500 – € 3,000 thus making space for classic car storage that brings him way more income than holding on to these cars. I’ve bene there twice and, sadly enough, most of them are just donor cars, not projects.