The glorious history of French luxury barges

Before World War II, French companies built many of the world’s most luxurious cars.

Prestigious names like Bugatti, Delage, Delahaye and Salmson thrived in their home country and abroad. Profitably making luxury saloons became exponentially more difficult after the war. Petrol was rationed, the French economy sulked into a depression and the government began collecting a stiff tax on what it classified as non-essential goods. The segment didn’t experience a true revival until the 1960s.

From the lame to the great, join us as we look at the luxury saloons made by French carmakers between 1960 and 2019.

Renault Rambler (1962)

The Fregate occupied the top spot in the Renault line-up during much of the 1950s. Its ponton design made it considerably more modern-looking than the Citroen Traction Avant, one of its main rivals. The tables suddenly turned when the avant-garde DS made its global debut at the 1955 Paris motor show.

Renault had to fire back. Instead of developing an executive saloon from scratch, it inked a deal with American Motors Corporation (AMC) to build and distribute the Rambler in Europe. The firm received the Rambler in kit form and assembled it in Haren, Belgium. The European-spec model came with a 3.2-litre straight-six engine that made 129hp in its initial state of tune.

The Rambler sold poorly even in France, where it was generally too expensive to buy, register and run. And, in hindsight, many buyers never warmed up to its decidedly American design. President Charles de Gaulle allegedly turned down an armoured Rambler as his official car.

Renault 16 (1965)

It didn’t take long for Renault to realise no one noticed the Rambler, let alone paid attention to it. Executives asked talented designer Gaston Juchet to draw a new luxury car whose design would resonate with buyers in Europe. He ditched the three-box silhouette and adopted a two-box look with a practical hatch in lieu of a flat boot lid. The sheet metal hid an innovative front-wheel drive layout already seen on Renault’s 3, 4 and Estafette models.

The coupe and saloon variants of the 16 designers experimented with in the early 1960s never made the transition to production. The model nonetheless received luxurious features like an automatic transmission, fuel injection plus power-operated door locks and front windows to cement its position at the top of the Renault line-up, especially after the Rambler quietly exited the stage in 1967.

Renault’s product planners hoped to replace the 16 with the 20 and position the 30 a notch above. Both models made their debut in 1975 but the 16 remained on sale until 1980. Over 1.8 million examples were built and the model was sold in dozens of countries, including the United States.

Monica 560 (1972)

In the late 1960s, a few years after Facel Vega disappeared, a French industrialist named Jean Tastevin embarked on an endeavour to build an ultra-luxurious saloon capable of beating Jaguar, Maserati and Mercedes-Benz. Former Formula One pilot Chris Lawrence helped design the car, which Tastevin ultimately named Monica after his wife Monique and 560 to denote the engine’s displacement.

The public first saw the Monica 560 during the 1972 Paris motor show and the production model made its debut a year later at the same event. Early prototypes looked like an overgrown Panhard CD and used a Ted Martin-designed V8. The production model received a contemporary-looking, wedge-shaped body and a 5.6-litre V8 borrowed from Chrysler.

The 560, like the Citroen SM, was born at the wrong time. The 1973 oil embargo caused demand for big, fuel-thirsty saloons to collapse. The French government consequently announced and enforced strict speed limits that further discouraged motorists from buying a fast car. Tastevin nonetheless moved forward with the project and assertively priced the 560 in the same bracket as the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow.

Production started in 1974 and ended a year later. Most historians agree Tastevin built no more than 17 regular-production models, though some argue the real number is much lower.

Citroen SM Opera (1972)

Monica wasn’t the only company ambitiously trying to propel France back to the ultra-luxury car segment. After making a pair of Citroen SM-based cabriolet limousines for the French government, coachbuilder Henri Chapron explored the possibility of building a four-door model with a closed roof aimed at the world's most discerning motorists. He presented the car – which he called SM Opera – at the 1972 Paris motor show.

The SM Opera found only eight buyers during its short production run, which ended shortly after Citroen stopped making the SM in 1975. The example pictured here traded hands at an auction in 2009 for nearly 200,000 euros (about £191,000 in 2018).

Citroen CX (1974)

Citroen introduced the CX right before the DS celebrated its 20th birthday. It should have used a 160hp triple-rotor Wankel as its top engine but fuel economy and reliability concerns forced Citroen to cancel those plans at the last minute. The company had access to several V6 engines (including the one in the SM and, later, the Peugeot-Renault-Volvo unit) but the CX’s engine bay was too small for one.

The CX nonetheless enjoyed a long, illustrious career. It spawned several variants including a spacious estate, a long-wheelbase limousine with a cigarette lighter in each rear door panel and surprisingly sporty GTi-badged versions. Chinese officials nearly selected it as their large car of choice during the 1980s but they allegedly back-pedaled after examining the hydropneumatic suspension. The contract instead went to the Volkswagen Santana.

Renault 30 (1975)

Renault, arch nemesis Peugeot and Volvo formed an unlikely alliance to develop a V8 engine in the early 1970s. In 1973, after the first oil crisis, they wisely decided launching a car with an eight-cylinder under the bonnet would steer them towards financial disaster and chopped off two cylinders to make a V6.

The 30 introduced the PRV engine to the Renault family when it made its debut in 1975. Period road-testers criticized its excessive fuel consumption but praised its handling and its comfort. Visually, the 30 stood out from the 20 (which came with a four-cylinder engine) with its four round headlights instead of two rectangular units.

Renault struggled to sell the 30 as well as it hoped. Some blamed the design. The 30 received a turbodiesel engine in 1982 and retired the following year.

Peugeot 604 (1975)

By launching the 604, Peugeot returned to a segment it left when it phased out the 601 in 1935. The saloon shared its V6 engine with the Renault 30 and insiders say the two companies tacitly agreed not to step on each other’s toes. Gaston Juchet gave the 30 a two-box silhouette with a large hatch; Pininfarina penned an angular, three-box body for the 604, which Peugeot aimed at motorists stepping out of a Mercedes-Benz.

The 604 focused on comfort above all. Buyers seeking a fully-loaded model could spend extra on niceties like air conditioning, an automatic transmission and leather upholstery. Still, the 604 sold at a glacial pace. Peugeot stopped making it in November 1985. Dealerships didn’t sell the last of the new cars they had in stock until July 1987.

Talbot Tagora (1980)

In 1976, Chrysler assigned its Rootes division the task of developing a range-topping saloon for the European market. The design brief called for a traditional three-box model with an engine bay big enough to swallow a straight-six. The model – called C9 internally – was nearly ready for production when Chrysler began showing signs of imminent collapse. It decided to sell its European division.

The French government pressured Peugeot into buying it to save Simca and the thousands of jobs at stake. Peugeot closed the deal in 1978, two years after reluctantly absorbing Citroen in comparable conditions, and quickly resurrected the Talbot name to replace Simca.

No one at Peugeot wanted the Tagora; executives understandably feared it would overlap with the 604. Decision-makers nonetheless chose to move forward with the project because it was nearly ready for production. Engineers fitted it with the 505’s running gear in a bid to reap the benefits of economies of scale.

Peugeot dealers had little desire to sell Talbot models and buyers had no idea what a Talbot was. Annual Tagora production dropped to 2624 examples in 1982 and Peugeot stopped making the model in 1983.

Renault 25 (1983)

Renault executives envisioned the 25 as a world-class car that would propel the firm back into the luxury car segment. The 604 and the CX were getting long in the tooth and the Germans were within reach; this was Renault’s chance to shine. Designers and engineers working on the project were given a generous budget to ensure they created a modern, safe car that drove at least as well as the competition.

It all came together nicely – on paper. In reality, cost-cutting measures created reliability problems that plagued early cars. Renault boss Raymond Levy did little to mute the chatter when he publicly revealed his personal 25 broke down on a monthly basis. Visual and mechanical improvements made in 1988 managed to salvage the car’s career.

Peugeot 605 (1989)

The 605 helped usher Peugeot into the era of in-car electronics. It was an expensive but essential move for a firm serious about competing against German brands like Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Peugeot initially offered the 605 with petrol-powered four- and six-cylinder engines. Period road testers praised its handling, its comfort and its luxurious interior. Buyers did, too, but the magic faded when they began experiencing issues with the car. Rushed to the market, the 605 suffered from a small galaxy of electrical problems that sent early cars back to the garage on a regular basis. Peugeot issued several recalls and managed to fix the problems by the 1993 model year but the damage was done. Reliability woes had completely decimated the saloon’s reputation.

Peugeot predicted it could sell 500,000 examples of the 605 over a 10-year period. It stopped making the car in 1999 after producing about 250,000 units.

Citroen XM (1989)

Flagship saloons from Citroen don’t come around very often. The brand introduced the all-new XM in 1989, a full 15 years after the CX made its debut. The Bertone-styled design made the XM one of the most futuristic-looking new cars in Europe when it arrived on the market. The sheet metal hid a new version of Citroen’s hydropneumatic suspension and a 13th window added to protect the occupants from wind when the hatch was open. The XM beat the Mercedes-Benz SL and the Ford Fiesta to win the coveted car of the year award in 1990.

The XM shared numerous components with the Peugeot 605 – and it suffered from the same electrical problems. Citroen tried cutting costs during the production process, components failed and early owners often found themselves with the suspension stuck in sport mode, without A/C, with broken windshield wiper motors or with taillights that lit up like a Christmas-themed Harrods window display.

Citroen made the XM appreciably more reliable starting in 1993 and fixed early cars for free but the model struggled to recover from the bad publicity. It nonetheless remained in production until 2000.

Renault Safrane (1992)

Rumours claiming Renault would hastily replace the 25 before the end of the 1980s allegedly motivated Peugeot and Citroen to rush the 605 and the XM to the market. They were false; the Safrane didn’t make its debut until 1992. Visually, it broke most ties with its predecessor inside and out.

Like its rivals, Renault wanted the Safrane to encroach on the Germans’ turf. To that end, it launched a range-topping model named Biturbo with a 3.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V6. It sent its 268hp output to the four wheels through a five-speed manual transmission.

Renault phased out the Biturbo in 1996 after making about 800 examples. The Safrane remained at the top of the company’s line-up until 2002.

Peugeot 607 (1999)

Peugeot built the 607 on an improved version of the 605’s platform. Introduced in 1999, its career almost got off to an atrocious start when French journalists driving pre-production models labelled its handling as catastrophic. Photos of a 607 going around a cone on two wheels started appearing on magazine covers across Europe. Peugeot averted a major crisis by making changes to the suspension and fitting different tires to the car before the first examples reached showrooms.

Peugeot made 168,875 examples of the 607 between 2000 and 2010. It didn’t sell as well as the 605, of which about 250,000 examples were made, but it fared considerably better than the Citroen C6 and the Renault Vel Satis.

Renault Avantime (2001)

Renault surprised the public at the 1999 Geneva motor show with a segment-defying concept car named Avantime. Some speculated it merely previewed the fourth-generation Espace. It did, but it also signaled the arrival of a production model that made its debut at the 1999 Frankfurt motor show.

The opinion-splitting design set the Avantime apart from other luxury coupes. It wasn’t an autobahn stormer; it was a périphérique cruiser. Renault asked Matra to start production in early 2000 but pushed back the launch several times to solve problems that came up during the development process. Notably, its doors required dual hinges because they each measured 140cm and weighed over 50kg.

Launched too late, too expensive and shoddily built, the Avantime stumbled and never got back up. Matra made the last of 8557 Avantimes in early 2003 after a production run that lasted only 16 months. It closed its factory shortly after, laying off 2500 workers, and hasn’t made a car since. The Avantime started its career with a botched launch and ended it with an industrial fiasco yet it has managed to make inroads into the collector car world.

Renault Vel Satis (2002)

With the Vel Satis, Renault wanted to offer buyers a different alternative to a typical luxury saloon. It certainly didn’t look like one; it received a tall, almost minivan-like silhouette and, for better or worse, it looked like nothing else on the road at the time. Well, almost.

Renault originally planned to release the Avantime about two years before the Vel Satis but reliability and production woes forced the company to delay the project. The two cars therefore arrived on the market at almost the same time. Dealers reported prospective buyers didn’t understand which one was positioned as Renault’s true flagship. This was not a glittering situation and no one could turn a Nelsonian eye to the Vel Satis’ styling. Renault wholly over-estimated the degree of design boldness motorists shopping in that segment were willing to accept.

Vel Satis production ended in 2009 after Renault sold a little over 62,000 examples of the car. In comparison, the more conventional Safrane found around 310,000 buyers during a production run that only lasted a year longer.

Citroen C6 (2005)

The XM died without an immediate successor.

Many feared Citroen had thrown in the towel until the C6 made its debut at the 2005 Geneva motor show. It borrowed many styling cues from the striking C6 Lignage concept introduced at the 1999 edition of the Geneva show and, consequently, paid tribute to the CX with its aerodynamic lines and concave rear window. Inside, it boasted a luxurious cabin with high-tech equipment like a head-up display and a lane-departure warning system.

Citroen hoped to sell approximately 30,000 examples of the C6 annually, a figure that, if attained, would have put the model about on par with the XM in terms of sales. Annual production peaked in 2007 at 7600 cars and Citroen quietly axed the model in 2012 after selling under 23,500 cars. The C6 died without an immediate successor, too.

Citroen DS5 (2011)

Citroen previewed the DS5 by showing a concept car named C-Sportlounge at the 2005 Frankfurt motor show. Its design evolved during the long transition from a concept to a production model but its overall proportions stayed roughly the same.

The DS5 became Citroen’s flagship after the C6’s demise. It shared its platform with Peugeot’s 3008 and 5008 models, meaning it couldn’t receive a V6 engine. Citroen instead offered full-fat variants with a 200hp diesel-electric hybrid powertrain.

Like its smaller siblings, the DS5 turned in its Citroen emblems in 2015 when DS became a standalone brand. Aesthetic tweaks (including a redesigned grille) accompanied the new name. Though comfortable and practical, the DS5 never convinced luxury car buyers and DS sold only 5738 examples across Europe in 2017. Production ended in May 2018.

Renault Latitude (2010)

The Latitude emerged from the dubious same train of thought that created the Renault Rambler. Rather than replacing the Vel Satis with an in-house design, the firm affixed its emblem onto the SM5 built by South Korean partner Samsung. The Latitude completely missed the mark in Europe, where its lacklustre design and uninspiring interior did little to lure buyers into showrooms.

Renault stopped selling the Latitude in 2015. We’re not sure anyone noticed.

Citroen C6 (2016)

The C6 nameplate returned for the third time in 2016 on the boot lid of a large saloon made and sold exclusively in China. While stand-out style gave Citroen’s previous flagship models a generous dose of allure, this version of the C6 wears an anonymous design that, with a different front end, could pass as anything from a Peugeot to a Vauxhall to a Hyundai.

That’s because it wasn’t designed by Citroen. It’s a badge-engineered version of the Dongfeng Fengshen A9. As of writing, Citroen officials have no plans to sell the C6 in Europe.

What’s next for Renault and Peugeot? (2019 and beyond)

Broadly speaking, Renault and Peugeot have given on the luxury saloon segment. Their top models are the Talisman (pictured) and the 508, respectively. They’re flagships by default, simply because there’s nothing above them; they compete a segment below the Vel Satis and the 607. Neither company has concrete plans to introduce a true luxury car in the foreseeable future, and with Peugeot especially having great success with its SUVs, we can hardly blame them.

What’s next for Citroen and DS? (2019 and beyond)

Citroen moved even further downmarket. It no longer makes the C6, C5 and C4 models so, by process of elimination, its flagship is the family-approved C5 Aircross. However, ‘There will be a new large saloon, because having one in the line-up is a crucial part of being a big manufacturer,’ Citroen CEO Linda Jackson told Autocar in 2018.

DS stopped production of the 5 hatchback in 2018. It plans to introduce a saloon positioned above the 7 Crossback as its new flagship in 2020. Thought to be badged DS 8, the model will compete in the same space as the Audi A6 and the BMW 5 Series, and we've spotted it out testing recently.