In North America, if you want to haul a car collection around, you buy a pickup truck and a trailer, and you’re happy as a clam. Roads and highways in this region of the world are permissive to these oversized behemoths and accommodate them comfortably. But in Europe, where roads are often too narrow for a Range Rover to pass through, let alone a big pickup, alternative solutions are of utmost importance. Hence why, this 1988 Citroën Tissier Car Carrier exists.
Coming to us today out of the fabulous Lane Motor Museum in Tennessee, this one-of-a-kind facility sells off pieces of their collection from time to time to make room for future vehicles and clear up inventory space. This is much to the benefit of the museum’s guests, who could usually only wish they could own a vehicle that called this wacky universe of bizarre automobiles home. But even by Land Motor Museum standards, this Citroën is downright bonkers.
The impetus for what appears to be Citroën CX front end welded to a ramp trailer came from a quite unlikely source. The man in question would be a well-respected and forward-thinking French civil servant by the name of Paul Tissier. Tissier was no fool. He knew that automobile transportation solutions from other nations were often incompatible with some of the more rugged and mountainous French backroads.
You’re not fitting an F-350 dually and a goose-neck trailer through the gaps in a French hedge. But you might be able to slip a front-wheel-drive Citroën with its hind quarters replaced by a flatbed through that same narrow passage. The first prototypes and initial small-batch production run began using the iconic DS as the starting platform. Over time, and as the DS was sunsetted in the mid-70s, the newer CX was chosen to usurp its forebarers with the same form factor in mind. In some ways, it’s a story that could’ve only taken place in France. They certainly have a way of doing things that contrasts with their British and German neighbors.
But you also can’t argue that what results is nothing short of one of the most bizarre automotive creations this side of a flying car. With a 2.5-liter engine under the hood sipping fuel to the tune of 33 mpg, it’s hard to argue this CX/flatbed monstrosity isn’t more economical than a proper truck. Supposedly, you could even cruise at 100 mph (160.93 kph) very comfortably in this French Frankenstein of a machine. One other thing’s for sure, a dually truck won’t turn nearly as many heads as this Citroën will without even trying.