Ooh la la! as Citroen rally rolls in

Driver Nigel Godfrey shows off a rare 1971 Citroen SM belonging to Andy Higgins. The vehicle was...
Driver Nigel Godfrey shows off a rare 1971 Citroen SM belonging to Andy Higgins. The vehicle was in Dunedin on the Citroen Car Club's annual national rally at the weekend. Photo by Gregor Robinson.
A touch of French style pervaded Dunedin at the weekend as about 60 Citroen cars of all ages and styles descended on the city for the Citroen Car Club's annual national rally.

The rally was hosted by the Canterbury Citroen Club, and was the first to be held in Dunedin for 18 years.

Local member Fraser Goldsmith said the weather put on a good show for members over the three-day rally, during which owners and drivers participated in a pride-of-ownership competition, a gymkhana (testing drivers' skills and judgement) and a navigation trial around the city using cryptic clues to find their way to various points of the city.

"We've had several brilliant days," Mr Goldsmith said.

The cars involved ranged from those built in 1939 to last year's models, with one of the rarer vehicles a 1971 Citroen SM.

The sports coupe, belonging to Hamilton man Andy Higgins, has a Maserati V6 engine and is one of only 13 such cars in New Zealand.

The owner of two Citroens - the other is a renovated 2CV - Mr Higgins said he particularly like the engineering of the make.

"The gearbox is at the front and the first thing my father said to me when I left Christchurch in 1953 was `never buy a Citroen' because if you had an accident you would lose the gearbox . . . and, of course, it was the first thing I went out and did when I got to Hamilton."

He had owned the Citroen SM for 15 years and was the car's fifth owner.

It was the European version and came to New Zealand from Noumea in 1973.

Only 12,900 of the cars were manufactured, between 1970 and 1975.

debbie.porteous@odt.co.nz

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