For fans of Citroens and ultra-rare classic cars, the 2009 Classic Motor Show will mark a British first thanks to a joint effort by the various Citroen car clubs attending, in conjunction with Citroen UK.

Not content with bringing along one or even two prototype models, the Citroen Car Club, the 2CVGB club and the Traction Owners Club will be showing four – three of which have not been seen before on British soil – to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the marque. These amazing vehicles are being brought to the UK from Citroen’s Conservatoire in Paris especially for the show.

The oldest and perhaps most familiar is a restored 1936 Citroen TPV or 2CV prototype, with a profile which will be instantly recognisable to anyone who has owned one of the famous twin-cylinder ‘tin snails’.

The same however cannot be said of the 1956 C-10, a car nicknamed the ‘Coccinelle’ (or Beetle). This fantastically brave and futuristic teardrop design, which is thoroughly Dan Dare in its appearance, was designed to fit between the 2CV and the DS. Powered by a flat twin-cylinder engine, the C-10 featured hydropneumatic suspension and partial gullwing doors. It was axed in favour of a comparatively more conventional-looking car, the Ami 6.

Dating from the early '60s and looking like a blend of DS and Ami 6, the distinctive C-60 was again intended to fill the gap between the two models, as a fairly large car with a small engine to suit French taxation laws. It was abandoned due to spiralling development costs; the gap in the range was ultimately filled by the much later GS.

The final star making its debut is a prototype which led to the creation of the Citroen CX as a replacement for the DS – 1971’s Projet L. Drawing heavily from Pininfarina’s BLMC 1800 Aerodynamica proposal, the CX was the last Citroen to be styled by the great Robert Opron before he left the company.