MEET THE OWNER – JOSEPH HUTCHINSON AND HIS CITROEN LNA
By Andrew Roberts |
8th February, 2021
Through no fault of their own, some cars never seemed to establish a niche in the UK. In Spain, the SEAT 133 was regarded as the heir to the 850. However, British motorists were perplexed by what seemed to be an enlarged Fiat 126. The Cherry Europe was the product of an ambitious agreement between Nissan and Alfa Romeo, but it seemed to have no apparent role in Datsun GB’s line-up.
And while many French drivers regarded the LNA as an agreeable entry-level hatchback, it caused some confusion on this side of the Channel – i.e. why was that 104ZS wearing chevron badges? In fact, the original LN of 1976 represented a logical decision on the part of Citroën. Earlier in the decade, they embarked on the 127-based “Projet Y” in collaboration with Fiat, but that became untenable following their takeover by Peugeot in 1974.
The solution was the LN, which combined the three-door 104 powered by the well-known “Flat Twin” 602cc engine. It served as a low-budget Citroën hatchback, supplanting the 2CV and the Dyane. 1978 saw the debut of the slightly more powerful 652cc LNA, which also boasted a computerised electronic ignition. By June 1982 the LNA11 gained the Visa’s 1,124cc four-cylinder unit, and Citroën GB thought this version would appeal to British motorists.
However, some members of the press grumbled about its identity. John Taylor stated ‘to graft a Citroën steering wheel and dashboard onto what is predominately a Peugeot 104 Shortcut does not make it a true member of the family’. Autocar was even more dismissive – ‘it is hard to see any advantages in what the LNA has to offer’. Worse – ‘it is hard to escape the conclusion that it is just an out-dated Peugeot 104 robbed of any character the model once had’.
Yet, the LNA did seem to have great potential as chic urban transport, and Joseph finds the cabin ‘amazingly spacious’. The Hutchinson Citroen is an 11E while the more expensive 11RE came complete with a ‘quartz clock’, a cigar lighter, front head restraints and a ‘removable rear parcel shelf’. Citroën UK also offered the limited edition Inca; an 11E with alloy wheels, a radio and seats upholstered in the finest beige/brown check available to humanity.
Yet the LNA never enjoyed much success in this country, primarily due to its Visa, Talbot Samba and Peugeot 205 in-house rivals. British sales ended in 1985, a year before the Citroën AX replaced the LN range. Joseph’s example ‘was found in a garage of the elderly lady that had it from almost new’.
TOF 770 Y has recently been re-commissioned, and today she receives ‘a lot of love from the public’. As the brochures put it, the Citroën LNA was ‘the ideal car for town and country’. Not to mention possessing that ‘hard-edged chic’.
With Thanks To: Joseph Hutchinson
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