BX 10 Dommage
This article was published in the dutch BX club magazine EN AVANT, july 1999.
The fact that not many people (hardly anyone) knows about the existence of the BX 10 Dommage lies in the fact that there were VERY few sold and only in one country.
Citroen always had the habit to produce a stripped base-model of it's models, which only had the most basic and utmost neccesary items. We know for example the 2CVSpecial from 1976, which was only available in yellow en did not even have a third sidewindow. Us economic dutchmen were always very interested in these cheap models en therefore Citroen decided to launch a cheap model in 1985, named BX Dommage. (Stupid name, since DOM means STUPID in dutch).
The BX Dommage differs in the first place by it's engine. Below the steel (cheaper) bonnet lies the 954cc engine, which was later used in the AX10E. De engine produced, through a four speed gearbox, 42 bhp. The combination of a pretty big BX and a small engine limited the performance of the BX Dommage. The top speed was 128 km/h and the acceleration from 0-100 km/h took 31,4 secondes. The BX Dommage was very economic on fuel, it used 5 liters per 100 km (1:20) according to Citroen.
Citroen advertised the BX Dommage as a city-car which could also be used in spare time for trips. In fact it was a stripped BX Basis. Compared to the BX Basis, the BX Dommage misses the fuel meter (there is only the warning light), the day-miles counter, the interval level of the wash/wipe and the rear window heater. On the floor there were rubber carpets (like in the Visa 2-cilinder) en also in the booth there was a rubber carpet. The chairs and couch were covered with a fabric called Crepe Suzette, a washable kind of grey skai. The chairs did not have a headrest and the rear sidewindow could not be opened. As last one, the BX Dommage did not have that special key-locked cover for the fueltank, but a normal screw-on cover.
Also the body was adjusted on few points. As said the bonnet was made of steel, which was also the case of the hatchback, which was made by Heuliez. Also the very small spoiler on the hatchback was missing. Because the rear windows were fixed, it was made of one piece of glass, so no small black pillar in that window. On the other hand, the BX Dommage got a very noticable lightgrey striping above the wheel arches.
To have the BX Dommage differ from the BX Basis, Citroen added a tow-hook and 3 Dommage badges; one on the bonnet, one on the hatchback and one on the dashboard. The BX Dommage was only available in the colors 'Fraise Abimee' (red) and 'Bleu Mamalou' (blue). To emphasize the spare-time charactre of the BX Dommage, Citroen supplied a picknick-basket, filled with plastic knife, spoon, fork and cups and a table cloth. The Dommage-logo was printed on the picknick basket. A very nice detail is that Citroen changed the sigaret-lighter from a normal BX to a corkpuller. Except for the sign on the item (which must be some drapes), it seems like a sigaret-lighter. As soon as you pull it out you find a corkpuller.
Citroen sold the BX Dommage for NLG 17.495,- (EURO 8000), and that price, which was NLG 1500 (EURO 680) below the price of the BX Basis, was very low. De brochure of the BX Dommage mentions a very limited edition of only 250 cars. The BX Dommage was only available in the spring and summer of 1985, and we suspect Citroen that they used this model to get rid of the remaining 1984-model BX-es. The BX Dommage was not a succes-story, because Citroen only sold 17 (!!) of the 250 cars. Probably the very low-motorized Dommage was a little too cheap. The remaining Dommages were rebuilt to BX Basis, by means of a 1400cc engine, normal rear side-doors and to remove the striping. These BX Basis' DO have the the Heuliez steel hatchback! Watch out when you see a BX Basis, because it could be one of the 233 BX Dommages.
So much for the BX Dommage; if you ever see one at a scrapyard, please notify me and BX club NL.
