A wondrous white Citroen ZX Shenlong-Fukang 988 sedan, seen in the Wangjing Subdistrict in Beijing in 2015. The good old ‘Troen was in great shape, with fresh paint and shiny chrome, nothing broken or gone, and looking completely 100% period-original. Note the typical French single windshield wiper.
Production of the China-made Citroen ZX started in 1994 by the Dongfeng-PSA joint venture. Shenlong (神龙) is the Chinese name for the Dongfeng-PSA joint venture. Fukang (富康) is the Chinese name for the ZX. The ‘988’ was an updated and upmarket variant of the base model China-made ZX., it arrived in 2000 and continued until 2007.
The EX was the top trim level of the 988. Price for the manual version was 171.500 yuan, which was a pretty good deal for the amount of car you got.
The 988 EX came standard with fancy alloy wheels, bumpers in body color, and black trim around the windows. This made for a surprisingly luxurious and even a somewhat sporty look. Power came from a 1.6 liter four-cylinder petrol with an output of 88hp and 135nm, which was good for a 175 km/h top speed and a 0-100 in 15.3 seconds. Gearbox was a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic.
The shape of the interior was the same as in the base model, looking very 1990’s. There is a shipload if beige plastics, dressed up with some faux wood on the center stack. The instrument binnacle has buttons on each side. Seat cushion, steering wheel cover, and gear knob are all after-market additions.
Dongfeng badge in the middle was replaced by a Citroen badge on the C-Elysee. ABS badge on the lower-right. In period, ABS systems were still a rarity in China, so most manufacturers who offered it slapped ABS badges on their cars.
The 2008 sticker was part of a Sinopec stunt for the Olympic Games. Sinopec is one of the major oil companies in China and they also own a zillion gas stations.
In 2008, in he runup to the games, Sinopec had a messy TV show with camera crews running around in traffic jams, looking for cars which such a sticker. When they found one the happy driver would get a free tank of gas and one minute of fame.
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