Citroënian

Winner of Classic & Sportscar’s Club Magazine of the Year 2006 and again in 2019

Every month, every member of the Citroën Car Club receives the Citroënian, a 96-page full colour high-quality A4 magazine. So what? Most car clubs have a magazine, many of them have 12 issues a year, and high-quality production isn’t difficult in this era of affordable technology. Why is the Citroënian so special?

The Citroënian has been the monthly magazine of the club for over fifty years, and has perhaps the highest degree of continuity of any club magazine over that time. Many contributors have been in charge of their columns for years – over 26 years in one case. This gives both a large amount of technical knowledge, and – most importantly – knowledge and experience of their audience and what they want from the magazine.

It’s a great blend of technical and non-technical, event reports and travelogue. There’s something in there for virtually everybody, from the home-restorer to the driver who takes his car to a specialist. It’s supported by advertisements in a non-intrusive manner (All adverts are Citroën related, and many businesses who advertise are run by club members). Most models of Citroën, from the earliest RWD cars to much of the current range, have a monthly column written by an owner and champion for that model. All columnists are ready and willing to answer phone calls or letters on their cars, to help members out with problems – and most use that contact as the basis for their writing.

Many club magazines suffer from over-production – text laid over images, a riot of clashing colour – but not the Citroënian. The design is clear, the text legible.

Don’t just take our word for it – here’s the summing up of the Judges for Classic & Sportscar’s Club Magazine of the Year award 2006 – “As ever, the most keenly contested category, and one of the most difficult to judge – not least because this year’s entry included six previous winners, all of which were in contention. Our runner-up is Porsche Post – the reference in car club magazines. Printed in colour throughout on high quality paper, it could easily pass for a bookstall publication, but then it’s produced by paid full-time staff for a club of 16,000 members.

Most clubs don’t have the luxury of such resources, relying on volunteers to produce their magazines. Since taking over the winning publication about 12 months ago, our winners have redesigned their lively (now A4) title on new software, which has saved the club money enabling the magazine to be printed in colour throughout. But they’ve kept the layout clean by avoiding the heavy background tints that spoil some club mags and moving all the display adverts to the back. Regional reports are clearly signposted, as are the well written round-ups from registrars, with good-quality photos throughout. Club Magazine of the Year is the Citroën Car Club’s Citroënian, edited by Anna Burmajster.”

Other articles in the December 2006 issue included 9 pages of regional section news, 4 pages on pre-1938 RWD Citroëns, 3 pages of A-series (2cv et al), 2 pages of SM (including a review of Veloce’s new SM book), an overview of the editor’s Pluriel after 4,000 miles from new and 5 pages of member’s classified adverts, covering everything from a 300 year old Brittany gite for rent to four Xantia Activa alloy wheels – free… Cars for sale include £500 MOTd ‘drive away’ BX 16v, a £900 ‘Immaculate’ 24v Xantia, two Tractions and a CX Turbo described as “Almost certainly the best you can find”, a “lovingly maintained” black ID Safari formerly in service with a French undertaker and a restoration project GS-engined Bedouin kit car.

Where else but the Citroënian?