Is the Citroen Zabrus the Eighties hot hatch we were robbed of?

This enticing collection of straight lines and right angles is the Citroen Zabrus concept car from 1986. It might look fairly low key now, but believe it or not this was a futuristic bit of kit when it was unveiled. 

Everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame, and arguably the Eighties were the golden period for France’s double chevron. Somewhere there’s an alternative universe populated solely by the Citroen concepts over the years that didn’t make it. A delicious cartopia, oozing style and full of breakdowns. This car, and its cheese slicer alloys, would be one of the top dogs. 

First presented at the 1986 Turin motor show, the Zabrus shooting brake (fancy way of rebranding the three-door hatchback) was designed by the talented chaps at Bertone, and based on the French carmaker’s bestselling BX family hatch. Also designed by the talented chaps at Bertone. They’ve got to pay the bills, haven’t they.

Well, the Zabrus engine is a particular highlight – the 2.1-litre inline 197bhp turbocharged 4cyl, five-speed manual gearbox and four-wheel drive were nabbed from the BX 4TC, a homologation model built by Citroen so that the BX could enter the Group B rally championship. The 4TC was a bit of a flop, managing a solitary sixth place points finish before Group B was banned. Amusingly, of the 200-unit homologation run, just 62 cars were sold by Citroen, many of which were subsequently bought back because of reliability problems. Oops. 

The Zabrus promised hot hatch performance to go with its racy looks – at least, 1986 hot hatch performance. The rally engine from the BX was said to drag the Zabrus from 0–62mph in 7.5 seconds and on to a top speed of 138mph. 

Nothing says concept car flight of fancy like scissor doors on anything other than a Lamborghini. Likewise the double boot doors are a delightfully pointless touch. Inside, the dashboard display was an all-LCD affair that spanned the base of the windscreen, beating the Honda e by nearly 35 years. It would no doubt have broken within 12 months of purchase. There was an onboard CD player too – such luxury. 

The steering wheel was belt driven, rather than using a more standard hydraulic set-up – a futuristic glimpse of power steering systems to come. The best feature was the automatic driving position, which used infrared beams to ensure the driver got the best view out of the car.

The interior of the Citroen Zabrus concept doesn’t disappoint either – the seats are trimmed in kangaroo leather, presumably to help driver and passengers cope with bouncing along roads at speed. The single-spoke steering wheel is a Citroen signature and the dashboard has angles galore. The Zabrus is a strict four-seater, with racy bucket seats all round. 

Why indeed? Let’s add this car to the many things that we don’t understand about the Eighties. The partnership between Citroen and Bertone was still developing, and the French obviously didn’t feel like there was a gap for a small coupe in the line-up. Some of the styling touches turned up on the 1989 XM, which Bertone also styled. It’s a curious quirk of Gallic carmakers that they insist on building oversized executive cars for people who won’t buy them. Unlike the Zabrus, which has instant hit written all over it. Doesn't it?