Final weekend on the Better of French and Italy present, certainly one of my favourite automotive occasions in California, I noticed a window sticker on an obscure Nineteen Eighties hatchback that made me snicker. It was on a Citroën LNA, a tiny ’lil factor primarily based on the Peugeot 104 that was launched in 1978 with a two-cylinder engine. 1981 introduced a extra highly effective four-cylinder mannequin, and this sticker advertises how briskly the four-cylinder LNA is — in comparison with you working in your sneakers, at the very least.
The sticker, which has a photograph of an LNA and a pair of candy pink Nike sneakers, says “J’ai chaussé la nouvelle Citroën LNA 4 cylindres… et mes baskets font le 400m en 19″6.” I solely took one 12 months of French, in sixth grade, so I ran it via Google translate, which says it reads “I placed on the brand new Citroën LNA 4 cylinders… and my sneakers do the 400m in 19.6 seconds.” Like, look how briskly you’ll be in your sneakers if you happen to drive this automotive as an alternative of run. 400 meters in below 20 seconds? That’s means sooner than the world report for sprinters, which at present stands at 43.03 seconds and was within the high-40s again within the ‘80s.
And me, somebody who doesn’t run? If I had my cool pink Nikes on, I definitely couldn’t run 400 meters in 19.6 seconds. That looks like overlaying such a protracted distance in a brief period of time. In fact I’ll drive my Citroën LNA, which may do the 400 meter rapidly! Downside is, the LNA is definitely gradual as shit. That extra highly effective four-cylinder engine solely makes 48 horsepower, a few dozen greater than the two-cyl. Prime velocity? Nearly 90 mph. On-line experiences fluctuate, however 0 to 60 mph appears to be at the very least 20 seconds. These figures had been all when new, thoughts you. Forty years later? I believe I’d quite run in my Nikes.
The images under had been of this similar LNA simply at a special present again in 2021:
