A Citroën BX 16RS found in a garage in Lincolnshire, England, had been sitting unused for 38 years. The unassuming family car belonged to a Royal Air Force engineer who helped develop Thrust 2, the vehicle that set a celebrated land-speed record in 1983.
Motoring journalist Jonny Smith featured the discovery on The Late Brake Show, his YouTube channel. In the video, the engineer’s daughter explains the car’s history. Her father bought the BX in 1983 and used it as the family car until 1988, covering 75,000 km. He had hoped his daughter would inherit it when she learned to drive, but that never happened. He kept the car rather than selling it, and it remained in the garage after his death in 2024.
Thrust 2 was powered by a Rolls-Royce Avon jet engine. On October 4, 1983, driver Richard Noble recorded a two-run average of 1,019.25 km/h in the Nevada desert, with a peak speed of 1,047.49 km/h.
The BX was in poor condition when Smith found it, surrounded by discarded appliances and other household items. It was missing a tyre, and the remaining tyres were flat; the body and mechanical parts were dirty and showed rust. Smith fitted new tyres and tried to start the car with a Citroën mechanic, but the engine would not run after decades of inactivity.
Unlike Thrust 2, the BX 16RS was a modest machine: its 1.6-litre petrol engine produced 92 hp and 137 Nm of torque. Weighing 940 kg, it took more than 13.5 seconds to reach 100 km/h and had a top speed of 176 km/h. The family hopes a restorer will bring it back to life.
Sources: Motorpasión.