Citroën AX
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| Citroën AX | |
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| Manufacturer: | Citroën |
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| Production: | 1986-1998 |
| Predecessor: | Citroën LNA Citroën Visa |
| Successor: | Citroën Saxo |
| Class: | Supermini |
| Body style: | FF 3 or 5 door hatchback |
| Engine: | 1.0 L, 1.1 L, and 1.4 L Petrol Engines & 1.4 and 1.5 Diesel straight-4 |
| Transmission: | 4 or 5 speed depending on model |
| Similar: | Proton Tiara |
The Citroën AX is a supermini built by the French manufacturer Citroën between 1986 to 1998.
The AX was launched at the 1986 Paris Salon motor show to replace the Citroën Visa. Initially it was available in 3-door form, with 1.0 L, 1.1 L and 1.4 L engines, with the range being joined by a 5-door model and a 1.4 L Diesel version shortly afterwards. It was initially backed by a memorable TV advertising campaign filmed in China, starring actress Janet Mas and an elderly gentleman, whose character was simply known as Mr Wong.
The car was very economical, largely because of excellent aerodynamics for its class of car (drag coefficient of 0.31) and a very light weight of around 650 kg for the basic version. In 1989 it managed a figure of 2.7 L/100 km, totalling over 1000 miles from Dover to Barcelona. This was the longest ever distance travelled on 10 gallons of fuel and earned it a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the most economical production car.
The fastest production model was at first the AX Sport, along side the AX GT, this was then replaced in 1992 by the AX GTi, which has a 100 PS (98 hp/74 kW) fuel injected version of the 1.4 L engine. It was the same year that the entire range had minor mid-life improvements, including a revised interior.
The 954 cc model of the Citroen AX reaches a top speed of 93 mph, has a level of 50 bhp and does 0-60 mph in approximately 13.5 seconds.
[edit] AX derivatives
Heuliez presented a Station Wagon called the AX Evasion at the 1988 Mondial de l'Automobile.
The Citroën Xanthia concept car was a small roadster derived from the AX (1988). In Portugal, tuner Benjamin Barral created an unofficial convertible version, called the BB Cabrio, powered by the twin-carb AX GT 1.4 L engine.
At one stage, parent firm PSA Peugeot Citroën had planned to launch a Talbot Samba replacement as a version of the AX with a different grille and a Talbot badge, but this plan was not executed, as the entire Talbot marque was axed in the same year the AX was launched.
The Proton company of Malaysia produced a version of the Citroën AX, the Proton Tiara, from 1996 to 2000.
Aixam Mega at one time built an AX derivative called Mega Club. It was somewhat inspired by the Méhari, with a plastic bodywork and an optional convertible version. It was discontinued in 1998. A competition version of the Mega Club with a tubeframe chassis raced in the Andros Trophy in the early 1990, but powered by Ford and Honda engines.
[edit] External links
| <- Previous | Citroën car timeline, 1980s-present - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
| Economy car | 2CV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Off-roader | Méhari | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| City car | LN | LNA | AX | C1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Supermini | C2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Visa | Saxo | C3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Small family car | GSA | ZX | Xsara | C4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Large family car | BX | Xantia | C5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Executive car | CX | XM | C6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leisure activity vehicle | Berlingo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Compact MPV | Xsara Picasso | C4 Picasso | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Large MPV | Evasion | C8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Crossover | C-Crosser | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
