3-Wheeled-Fun: 1991 Citroën Lomax 223
The UK has a wonderful culture of building kit cars that can be easily registered for the road. This led to a lot of specials being built in the 1960s all the way up to recreation GT40s and cars like the Ultima being built today. A lot of the cars are more unusual but with very common underpinnings, and there’s where the Citroën Lomax comes in today. This was originally developed in the UK and built on a Citroën 2CV chassis in 1982 is still available to purchase today if you were after a new one. Ours was built in the UK and shipped to the US where it now resides in Boston Massachusetts and is available for $8,500 here on Craigslist. Thanks to Pat L for this tip!
Interestingly the Lomax was designated a number – ours is 223 – based on the number of cylinders, seats, and wheels. Ours is the 223 so has 2 cylinders, 2 seats, and 3 wheels. The body was built from fiberglass and built on an unmodified 2CV chassis, meaning the build and maintenance are relatively easy. The design is vaguely based on the classic Morgan roadster of the 1930s and this is why it remains such a hit to this day.
Our car has 92,000 miles on the clock, but hard to say if this is from the original car, or from the Lomax conversion. We also do not know when this car was converted or built (maybe 1991) so the next buyer will need to find out from the seller. Given that these cars are still for sale on the official Lomax website, it means that you are likely to be able to get parts and support if you needed to make any upgrades or changes to the car.
This could be the ideal car for you, given the high gas prices of recent years – the car weighs under 500kg and has a fuel consumption figure of 59mpg (US). It would likely be the most economical fun you could have on the road if you don’t mind staring at the bottom sill of all the trucks idling around you at the traffic lights. So would you be brave enough to daily drive this bright yellow Lomax in your area, or would you reserve it for those special occasions and weekends where you could comfortably cruise along and enjoy the sensation of ‘driving a slow car, fast’?
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Comments
Oh, HELL no. Only the French would hit a Morgan with an ugly stick.
If I want an open air experience for roughly the same $$, I’ll just open the garage door and pop into the Miata.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but the car was apparently designed and built in England. Only the underpinnings are French.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but it’s an English design and build.
Ya but…you’d be noticed in this..as you struggle up a hill at 30 mph.
Yup it’s a lummox…
Yeesh, that entire front end need needs a redo.
What a butt ugly turd. Only the French could build something that bad
English built it, if you can read.
Okay….Only some Englishman would be smart enough use a French chassis to build something this bad….:-) :-)
These are really fun cars! Simple, faster than you would expect and great attention getters. Relatively easy to work on and reasonably reliable. I imported over a dozen 15 – 20 years ago, but not the yellow one (not sure if the green one next to it went though my hands or not, but it could have). I guess it depends on how you define “bargain” but this one may be – I was regularly selling them years ago for $15,000 – $16,500.
Is it still available?
Reminds me of an Ehlio…oh wait they still haven’t built those yet.
A whole lotta bad information by a whole lotta people who don’t know a whole lotta ’bout these great little cars. 1) They’re quite fast – climbing hills at speed is no issue, cruising 70+ on the Interstate all day long is not a problem. 2) While this is a British kit car based on a French chassis it is an ingenious design that produces a very fun, very stable unusual sports car that will give you the thrill of piloting an open cockpit biplane every time you use it! The world needs more Lomaxes far more than it needs ridiculously over-powered Factory Five kit cars but they are for a man who is quite confident in himself, and has no perceived “inadequacies” he needs to compensate for by overpowered dangerous toys!
Adequate schmadequate- there’s no question it’s butt ugly.
ive got one fantastick car i live about 2 mile from the factory best kit car i have owned
Hi, is this still for sale?