Produced between the 1980 and 1985 model years, the Chevy Citation was offered for a single generation as the Bow Tie brand’s first front-wheel-drive car. Slotting between the Chevy Monza and Chevy Malibu, the Chevy Citation offered a sportier variant dubbed the X-11, which even competed in SCCA racing for a time. Now, this low-mileage 1982 Chevy Citation X-11 is up for grabs in a new online auction.
Available online at Bring A Trailer, this 1982 Chevy Citation X-11 was posted by Competition Cars, a car dealer located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. With just 11,000 miles on the clock, this thing looks to be in pretty excellent shape, and would make for a nice addition to a collection.
Presenting a two-door hatchback body, the Chevy Citation X-11 is covered in Redwood Metallic paint with matching side mirrors, as well as a rear lip spoiler, sunroof, X-11 decals, and gold pinstriping. A set of 14-inch wheels ride in the corners.
Moving inside, we find cloth upholstery that complements the exterior and covers the front bucket seats and rear bench seats. The red coloring can also be found on the dash, door panels, carpets, and rubber floor mats. The two-spoke steering wheel includes the X-11 logo, while amenities include air conditioning, cruise control, power door locks, and an AM/FM radio.
Motivation is sourced from the 2.8L High Output V6 engine, originally rated at 135 horsepower and 145 pound-feet of torque. The V6 pairs with a three-speed automatic transmission to drive the front wheels exclusively.
The sale includes the original window sticker, manufacturer’s literature, and sale paperwork. The window sticker shows an original sale amount of $11,562.91.
Now, this 1982 Chevy Citation X-11 is up for grabs at auction through June 23rd. As of this writing, the highest bid of 11 placed thus far is set at $10,111.
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Comments
I remember laughing at those at the time they came out. I bought my first new vehicle in 82, was an S-10 Sport short bed with V-6. It was yellow with black accent, nice truck! I traded it in on a new red Pontiac Fiero in 84.
Fiero? And you laughed at the Citation?
I worked at a Chevy dealer when these came out. This car was as bad as a Vega. Transmissions were horrible. They were leaving people stranded because the drive chain would break on gently driven cars, along with other problems. The engine has another problem with intakes leaking. The steering gears all leaked. GM had a van full of new racks and pinions driving around from dealer to dealer, dropping off as many as possible, usually not enough. The 1980 model had the rack, and pinion bolted to the sheet metal firewall. The studs would break off. What a mess not sure what year, but they remounted the rack to the subframe that fixed it. They welded the door hinges to the body if the doors did not fit well, that’s what you had to live with, and the RH doors were usually way off. I could go on forever.
Thank you for the ‘reminisce’ C1. A lot of us forget about all those things back then today, -when we expect all the new models to be flawless frm the start, -and they aren’t.
To all the down raters it looks like you never worked on a car. This info is exactly how it was, please make a comment about why you don’t agree, or can’t you write.
I owned an 81 Skylark that needed the power steering unit replaced twice. Also had a lot of brake issues with the front rotors rusting on the inside, something that wasn’t obvious by looking at it. When it got older it didn’t like to idle, and would stall when you tried putting it in drive.
My brother had a Citation that had valve issues, but was an 82 and as I recall they’d solved the carburetor problems by then.
No, they weren’t great cars, but in typical GM fashion they solved the problems after everyone had been burned.
I had a 76 Vega and 84 Citation. Had some great times in both. Only problem I every had was the timing chain on the Vega
They looked OK, but the buyer was the guinea pig and it didn’t take long for the X cars to get a lousy reputation for quality and reliability. This was before social media.
Had a 82. Biggest POS I ever owned. Ashamed of admitting that I owned it.
I was working at AC Delco in Rochester NY when this car came out in 1980. We made tons of electoral parts for this vehicle. Lot of hours great pay. Retired GM.
All of the US car manufacturers had lemons then and continue to do so through today. That’s how imports gained ground. Nowadays the playing field has leveled off they are mostly all lemons from looks to the drivetrain. That’s been my experience at least. The one I owned that was my favorite was my first new car… 1985 Monte Carlo SS. I think the dealer service department put more miles on that car than I ever did.
These cars were hit and miss when it came to quality control and reliability. The 1980/81 model years were the worst with constant recalls, rear brake issues, fires, bad steering racks along with morning sickness, engine and transmission problems and numerous electrical glitches. With that said the 125 transaxle did eventually turn into a reliable long lasting unit in later years and both the 2.8 and 2.5 Iron Duke also would be pretty durable after 1982 when they gained fuel injection. In 1983 they re-named this car the Citation II to distance itself from the previous car and indeed they were generally better but by this time the damage was already done to the X-car line and sales tanked.
That car was a piece of crap when it was brand new! Now it’s just a old turd with the same problems!
It’s funny to think this 2.8L with a three speed auto was at some point in time considered to be some kind of a performance vehicle.
With the 4 speed stick they were relatively peppy for the time and even saddled with the automatic were quicker than most other FWD cars of the time. Note the 3 speed used a 3.33 axle as opposed to the usual 2.39 which was a huge difference. That 135 HP rating was a decent bump over the stock 110-112 that regular 2.8’s made. These cars were also very light for the time weighting in around 2500 LBS.
Note that competing K-cars had a 93 HP 2.6 Mitsubishi Silent Shaft 2.6 as their top engine and Ford’s Tempo a few years later made due with a mere 84 horses in 1984. Also it’s worth mentioning the performance oriented Datsun/Nissan 280Z had a 2.8 OHC inline 6 cylinder engine that could only muster a mere 145 HP this year which was only 10 more than Chevy’s OHV 2.8 despite using L-Jetronic Bosch fuel injection!
I had a black 1981 4 speed and loved it. It was lots of fun! I Kept it till 1984 and traded it in on a new Z28 H.O.
I owned a exact copy of this vehicle, color and interior. I added a couple of my own idea’s, with a front air dam made out of vinyl wall material. I also added hood and deck stripes. I took it to a local indoor car show and received a nice first place throphy in street machine. I only owned it for a year, so don’t know if there were going to be any problems.
I tried to trade for a grey or maybe silver version. Dealer wouldn’t give anything for my trade. A co-worker bought it instead and I don’t recall him having anything but a few minor problems with it. It was sharp looking but not a race machine by any stretch either.
The very early cars were problems but they did get the later cars right and they become the Celebrity, J6000. Century and Cutlass.
We serviced a fleet of these for a local paper for a number of years. We saw very few issues. All were V6 and had the F41 suspension as they hauled loads of news papers. One was a FI 2.8 X11.
The X11 engine got the better cam, bigger valve heads and more power at like 130 HP. It was the Fiero engine with a different intake, exhaust and Mass air. This accounted for the less than 140 HP of the Fiero.
While there were issues here all the companies FWD cars had issues. The Tempo. Escort, K cars etc all had issues.
Bosses mother in-law had a Phoenix. Never an issue with it and she drove it for 20 years.
If you were only exposed to the very early models you would hate these but they did get things right and they went on to become other models.
It was easy to think of these as performance models as they were lighter than todays cars and the base model 4 cylinders were 90 HP. That 130 HP was not far off the 180HP Corvette.
It was odd times.
I had a 1988 Century with the 3.8 V6. Great car and quick too.
Had a 84 Buick skylark sold the car in 92 with 220k miles on it. I think by 84 they had most of the problems with the X body taken care of.
I wanted to buy a X11 but waited and got a Pontiac 6000 , which had its roots as a Chevy citation.
The Pontiac had the 2.8v6 and auto trans . It was a very good car , roomy for the size , big trunk, relatively quiet , handled well .
The 2.8 had good power and very good fuel economy.
Our other car was a V8 Caprice 4 door, The 6000 was really a better car all round in terms of driving dynamics , comfort etc
It was just a better ride that the bigger Chevy sedan, and no reliability issues
If you think of the 80/81 Citation and now think of the Ford Bronco/ Sport today and all of the issues they have had in the first 2 years with recalls , you have a better understanding of how difficult it is for manufacturers to get drastically new models launched. The chevy Citation was a ground breaking auto at the time that should have had another year of development before it was launched. The size , concept , power etc were all bang on , and sales exploded , however the car needed more development before it went prime time.
Lets hope GM has gotten it right with the Trax , The Trailblazer and the Encore GX had very successful launches, lets hope the Trax is a repeat !!
Ugh! I bought one in ’82. First new car I ordered. Two door with 4cylinder and manual transmission. Got the rally wheels and chrome package. F41 susp. Wanted a more fuel efficient car. Big mistake. The synchro for 1st gear was busted when I picked it up. Windows would not roll down when it sat in the sun. Engine would not idle when cold. Stalled at every stop light. Was in the shop constantly. Was before Lemon Laws. Worst part was sold ’77 Camaro LT with floor mounted 3-speed manual. Wish I still had Camaro. Try to forget about the Citation.
We bought a Citation when they came out new.
Guess we were lucky because it was an amazing car.
Quality was top notch and it lasted us many years.
We were sad to see it go.
The significance of this car is seen everyday. One of the unique options introduced on this car was a high mounted stop light. A couple of years after the Citation was on the road the Safety of having that option was noticed and then secretary of transportation Elizabeth
Dole pushed for making it mandatory on all new cars! In the year 1986 every new car had one!! BREAK LIGHTS!!!
I think in 1984 Transport Canada mandated all new cars had to have the center brake light. It’s one of the last times in living memory that Canada took the lead on something I’m sad to say.
“Effective with the 1986 model year, the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Transport Canada mandated that all new passenger cars come equipped with a CHMSL.”
There’s an urban legend that a taxi driver in the 70s mounted a similar brake light on his car after getting rear ended, but who knows?
The 1971-1978 Olds Toranados had high mounted stoplights.
I never said first time, I said Unique, Olds was always the TEST brand ( trying potential options, like your electric power windows, AC, and automatic,thank Olds) however the Citation was a volume model and enough cars were produced to prove the value of a High mounted stop light! I appreciate your comment though!
I owned one, I traded it for a motorcycle.
GM, What were you thinking?
My first car was a Citation.
Paid $500 for it.
Best car I ever had. Powered through the snow like a champ.
Eventually traded it for a Sunbird.
I ordered this very car (but with the four-speed) from Johnny Londoff Chevrolet in Florissant MO (St. Louis). Same interior and exterior color, with all the option boxes checked. I’d seen the ’81 version at the Chevy dealer in Manhattan, KS where I was finishing up college and immediately wanted one. After moving to St. Louis for my first job and marrying my college girl (still married!) I decided to pull the trigger. Long story short, the only issue I had with the car was the AC compressor seized up, and that was a simple warranty repair. I loved that car. It actually got a lot of positive comments. I added Bosch driving lights under the front bumper and a set of rear window louvers. I ended up trading it at Lou Fusz Pontiac for an ’86 6000 STE and learned quickly that I’d made a huge mistake. That car (based on the Citation platform) was nothing but trouble from end to end. I took a page of issues that the dealer couldn’t (and eventually wouldn’t) fix to my arbitration meeting and won my case. I took my check and bought an ’87 Mazda 626 5-door Turbo and rediscovered what it was like not to have to sit in a dealer’s service lounge for hours (after having worked all night).
Since then, I’ve had Taurus SHO’s, six-speed Maximas, and now several Corvettes (manuals only, thank you very much). But you guys are going to laugh when I say I wish I could find my X11. This car is probably as close as I’ll ever find. As with the ladies, you never forget your first!
I had a 1983 version almost exactly like this one. I drove it over 200,000 miles and had very few issues. Of course I had regular service on it. It had all the bells and whistles with electric everything. All my Navy buddies were jealous whenever they rode with me somewhere. I remember the only real issue I had was a tendency for the choke to engage when starting. I had the dealer take care of that. I sold it to a buddy almost 8 years later and he drove it as a work car for almost 3 years after that. Lost track after that, wish I still had it.