Final weekend on the Better of French and Italy present, one in all my favourite automotive occasions in California, I noticed a window sticker on an obscure Nineteen Eighties hatchback that made me giggle. 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 operating in your sneakers, a minimum of.
The sticker, which has a photograph of an LNA and a pair of candy purple 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 in case you drive this automobile as a substitute of run. 400 meters in beneath 20 seconds? That’s method quicker than the world document 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 purple Nikes on, I definitely couldn’t run 400 meters in 19.6 seconds. That looks like protecting such an extended distance in a brief period of time. After all I’ll drive my Citroën LNA, which might do the 400 meter shortly! Drawback is, the LNA is definitely sluggish as shit. That extra highly effective four-cylinder engine solely makes 48 horsepower, a couple of dozen greater than the two-cyl. Prime pace? Nearly 90 mph. On-line experiences fluctuate, however 0 to 60 mph appears to be a minimum of 20 seconds. These figures had been all when new, thoughts you. Forty years later? I believe I’d moderately run in my Nikes.
The images under had been of this similar LNA simply at a distinct present again in 2021:
