ALMOST every car brand has its fanatics. But there is no car nut quite like a Citroen nut.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Eccentric, oddball, quirky – we could be describing the old Citroens themselves, but it could equally apply to the people who love them.
In truth, Country Cars cannot think of a more obsessive car fanatic than a Citroen fanatic, and Ballarat has one who is as obsessed as any. Shane Leviston of Magpie has old Citroens everywhere at his place.
About five (give or take) are running, four are strictly for parts, and several somewhere in between.
“I don’t know why,” he said. “I guess it comes from my father (Alan). As long as I can remember, Dad had a Citroen.
In fact, his first car (Shane points) is in the shed over there. He couldn’t sell the cars either.
“They are just interesting. Every thing about them is different. Not better, not worse, just different.
“They were so ahead of their time, with their technology and the way they looked, especially how streamlined they were. The Australian-built ones only had 65 horsepower (less than 50kW) but they comfortably sit on 90mph (145kmh) all day. There was just not a lot in the way of acceleration.
“They also had self-levelling hydraulic suspension, they were one of the first cars with big disc brakes, centre-point steering, hydraulic transmission and active headlights.
And this was back in the 50s and 60s.
“They attracted engineers and artists for a reason.”
Shane is a computer programmer with Dorevitch Pathology, so there is one stereotype box ticked.
And his love of computers and the internet fits in nicely with his Citroen obsession.
“I’m on the internet a lot. I’m a moderator on the aussiefrogs.com car forums for Citroens, Peugeots and Renault owners,” he said.
“When I’m working on the computer I have the forum on every day. It would be in the background eight hours or more during the day – and at night.
Some people on the forum think I should look like a grumpy old man.
“People will sometimes be looking for parts but, the problem is, the part they want everyone else wanted, while the bits they don’t need, I’ve got a dozen of them in perfect working order.”
Shane’s first car was a Renault 4 which he quite literally built himself from parts commandeered from four Renault 4s.
“He had been asking me for a car to work on as a project, so I give it to him,” Shane’s father Alan said.
“He built it himself from four cars using a manual.”
Shane’s first Citroen, on the other hand, was a red CX he got as an 18-year old.
His existing collection now includes a pinkish 1963 Citroen ID19 (essentially a lower-spec Citroen DS assembled in Melbourne), a similar ID19 in black, a 1985 CX250 GTi series II in maroon, a 1976 CX2200 four-speed and a 1972 DS 21.
His father, meanwhile, has a 1984 2CV (which would not look out of place in 1954), a 1975 DS23 and a 1952 Light 15 (AKA Traction Avant).
Despite the eccentric take on engineering, Shane denies Citroens are unnecessarily complex to work on.
“Quite the opposite really. They were built by people so they can be repaired by people too,” he said.
He is less sold on modern Citroens.
“They are a bit too much like everything else. You might as well get a Camry,” he insisted.
So what does his wife Angela make of the Citroen obsession?
“I’m sure my wife would be happier if I got rid of all the stuff and bought a nice Camry,” he said.
“People would often knock on the door and ask my wife: ‘Is this the Citroen house?’ I think she might like to deny it but then they see eight cars out the back.
“They will say they have a relation who had one and ask if I want to collect it.”
In fact, Alan believes Shane takes it to a whole new level. His house has become like a lost dog home for the French machines.
“He’s worse than me,” Alan said.
“Shane has actually rung me up to tell me there is a CX in a paddock that will go to the scrappers if we don’t collect it. I say to him, just let it go.”