Citroën Axel

The Oltcit Club is a supermini produced between 1981 and 1991 and developed in co-operation by Citroën of France and Oltcit, a joint venture company with the Romanian government.

They were powered by the air-cooled engines from the Citroën GS/GSA; the air-cooled flat-twin engine from the Citroën Visa used in the Romanian-market Oltcit Special was not installed in the export-only Citroën Axel.

Development history

From 1965 Robert Opron worked on the Citroën G-mini prototype and project EN101, a projected replacement for the 2CV using that car's flat twin engine. It was supposed to be launched in 1970. The advanced space-efficient designs, with very compact exterior dimensions and an aerodynamic drag co-efficient C_d of 0.32, were axed because of adverse feedback from potential clients. The more conservative final design has a Cd of 0.36 (for the Axel 12 TRS, 0.37 for the Axel 11).

The early seventies Citroën Prototype Y, intended to replace the 2CV-based Citroën Ami which dated back to 1960, was originally developed in co-operation with Fiat. It built on the lessons from the Citroën G-mini and EN101 projects. It used the then new and advanced Fiat 127 platform, featuring a transversely mounted engine driving the front wheels, with an end-on gearbox layout that Fiat had pioneered in the 1960s. When cooperation with Fiat ended, a new Citroën-designed platform was planned. After the takeover of Citroën by Peugeot in the wake of the 1974 oil crisis, the renamed "Projet VD (Voiture Diminuée)" became the Citroën Visa, incorporating the floor pan of the Peugeot 104 and using the advanced 104 engine with the (under-engine) transmission and chassis. It was the first new model under the platform-sharing policy of PSA Peugeot Citroën that continues today. The earlier Citroën LN was no more than a facelift of the Peugeot 104Z "Shortcut" with a re-engine and transmission from the Citroën Dyane.

Eventually, in 1981, the original Citroën platform design from "Project Y" emerged as an Oltcit in Romania, using a Citroën Visa flat-twin engine and Citroën GS-based gearbox, and Citroën GS flat-four engine and gearbox. Like the GS, it also featured four wheel disc brakes, with the front ones mounted inboard to lower unsprung weight. Beginning in July 1984, it was also sold in Western Europe as the Citroën Axel. Citroën was hoping to recoup money that Citroën had invested in Romania that the communist government couldn't repay. The Axel had been scheduled for an earlier introduction, but Oltcit had been unable to provide either the quality or the quantity expected by their French partners. This project was problematic for Citroën due to productivity and build quality issues and 60,184 cars were made, even though the base models were priced below the 2CV in Western Europe. The Axel was never sold in the UK.

When launched in France, Citroën acknowledged that the Axel was a competitor of their Visa. However, that the Axel only had three doors and was of a simpler, more robust design was considered enough to offset any possible loss of (already shrinking) Visa sales. The four-cylinder Axel 11 was 10 percent cheaper than a two-cylinder Visa in the French market. It also had a particularly low rear loading height, which, with its sturdy, basic construction, contributed to being particularly well received by farmers and denizens of smaller towns.

In addition to the regular Axel, there was also a light commercial version with no rear seats available, called the "Axel Entreprise."

Production

The Oltcit Club carried on with the Prototype Y-derived design and was sold between 1981 and 1995. It was also sold in Western Europe, often badged as the Citroën Axel.

In 1991, as a result of the withdrawal of Citroën from the joint venture, the name of the manufacturing company was changed to Automobile Craiova and production continued under the ''Oltena'' brand.

After 1994, it was sold under the ''Rodae'' brand, when the company decided to go into partnership with Korean company Daewoo Heavy Industries (later Daewoo Motors).

Oltcit Club 12 CS

The Oltcit Club 12 CS is a small pick-up based on the Oltcit Club. It was launched in 1993 with a 1299 cc engine and a 5-speed gearbox with ratios that favor power. This model also has thicker rear torsion bars to withstand a greater load.

Engines

Models

Oltcit-branded models

* Oltcit Special (652 cc)
* Oltcit Club 11 (1129 cc)
* Oltcit Club 12 TRS (1299 cc)
* Oltcit/Oltena Club 12 CS (pick-up version) (1299 cc)

Citroën-branded models

* Citroën Axel 11 R Entreprise (1129 cc)
* Citroën Axel 11 R (1129 cc)
* Citroën Axel 12 TRS (1299 cc)
* Citroën Axel 12 TRS Entreprise (1299 cc)

References

External links

Oltcit (Citroen Axel)
in Romanian
Oltcit, Oltena and Axel
at Citroenet

{{Citroën timeline 1950–1989

Axel
Cars of Romania
Subcompact cars
Front-wheel-drive vehicles
Cars powered by boxer engines
Hatchbacks
1980s cars
1990s cars
Cars introduced in 1981
History of Craiova
Cars discontinued in 1996