AXEL Entreprise

March 1986

1936 Km.

COLOUR: Beige Atlas.

 

MODEL : Enterprise version 2 seats, equipped with the flat 4 engine of the GSA,1129cc, aircooled, 57CV DIN. Available also with the 1299cc engine from the GSA. GSA gearbox with front disc brakes.
3 other versions: Base model, 1129cc engine, sold at a lower price than the 2CV.

Axel 11 RE: Same engine but with better trim.
Axel 12 TRS: Engine of 1299cc, alloy wheels.

The Axel is the last 100% pure Citroen, as the Y project was conceived in 1974, although not sold in France until 1984 up to 1990, following agreements made with the Romanian dictator Ceausescu. In fact, the real intention of the Romanian president of being involved with Citroen over the Axel project, was industrial espionage. The version Oltcit for the Romanian market sold badly. PSA sold the Axel in non-communist countries. Sold 10 years after its conception, it was also a commercial flop.

HISTORY :The first owner was a real character. He was a department head of the airport at Orly, lived alone and answered only to himself. With time, he became afflicted with Diogène syndrome, which meant he obsessively hoarded objects. This Axel was bought without any purpose and was left in the parking of his Paris block of flats. He liked to go on pointless train journeys around Paris. He also liked to walk aimlessly on foot in town. He kept piles of objects that he had no use for.

His illness led him to be admitted to a hospice near to Reims, not far from his brother who dealt with emptying his home, which was no mean undertaking. In the underground parking, under 20 years of dust from the Parisian traffic, the Axel was waiting to be resurrected. The brother brought the car by transporter to Reims to be put back in order and advertised for sale. A Citroen fan from that region, Jean-Michel Matras was kind enough to look at and help me acquire the car.