More than 2.5 million copies of the Citroën AX were produced between 1986 and 1999, but Citroën officially did not market any convertible variant. However, we can sometimes come across a discoverable AX. Several bodybuilders have indeed opened the city car.
The Citroën AX was presented at the Paris Motor Show in 1986. Close to it on the Citroën stand was exhibited the Xanthia concept, a small roadster based on the new city car with chevrons. The name of this prototype was well used, amputated of its “h”, for the sedan launched in 1993. But Citroën did not hold back the idea of a discoverable AX. Never mind, independent coachbuilders were quick to transform the car into a convertible.
Citroën Xanthia concept.
Semi-official marketing in Portugal
As early as 1988, the Citroën dealer Benjamin Barral, which operated in Portugal, allowed its customers to buy AXs transformed locally into convertibles by AG Engineering. This open-air city car based on the 86 hp AX GT and called the AX BB Cabrio was produced in several dozen copies (92 according to several sources).
Also in 1988, EBS presented a prototype AX convertible called Furio. The idea of the Belgian company was to enter into an agreement with Citroën to mass-produce this model, as it had previously done with Renault to market a Supercinq convertible. This project with the diamond mark was stillborn and EBS had no better luck with Citroën, which closed the door. However, it is rumored that a handful of cars were still marketed by EBS.
AX cabrios of various origins
At least two other companies have turned AXs into convertibles, with even smaller production volumes. On the model of Benjamin Barral in Portugal, the German dealership Citroën Seifert sold a few AX cabriolets signed Haffner.
And in the United Kingdom, it was the bodybuilder Senlac Garage who transformed a few AX Salsa into convertibles. Between the diversity of basic finishes (GT, Salsa, etc.) and body configurations (with or without door pillars, central arch, etc.), discoverable AXs have a wide variety of characteristics. Regardless of the company behind the transformation, the exact number of Citroën AX convertibles produced is difficult to determine. What is certain, however, is that these cars are rare today.
TO READ. Citroën. 15 future collectors at (still) affordable prices
