Citroen XM Forum

The Wiki page is all a bit too wordy for me to even bother reading.

yes it is quite comprehensive.

I did notice the SD1 will. And I have to admit I really like the SD1. Infact I think they make the best police cars too. They just look so cool.

As for me, as long as it's hydraulic (or maybe even something new that gives even better ride comfort), it's a real Citroën all right...

If there is such a thing as the chopped V8 can I have the two spare cylinders to add to mine to make a straight six - then I'll have my favourite set-up.

Hi: thanks for those answers. However, none answer my question which was whether anyone had a book or article that said the XM was viewed as the last real Citroen. All I have is a Car magazine comment. Absent any supporting documents the "last real Citroen" line is gone and stays gone.
The BX wasn't Volvo based.The Volvo relationship is down to the fact Bertone did a show car called the Tundra and the themes were recycled for the BX. The Tundra didn't look in any way Volvo-like. By the same reasoning you could call the Maserati 3200GT Daewoo based because the forms were related to ItalDesign's Daewoo Leganza which in turn was recycled from the Jaguar Kensington concept.

The EPA Citroen XM book should have all you need.

Back flyleaf cover:
"It took Citroen four and a half years to design, develop and launch the Citroen XM."
the rest of this paragraph is worth quoting.

The photo on pages 6 and 7 show the car and the principle design team.
Page 8 has an outline of the photo with the 23 individuals numbered and named.
Might be worth checking how many were from Peugeot at the time and their job function.

Page 9 includes statements that state the XM is to replace the 15 year old CX.

Pages 26 & 27 detail Citroen's relationship with Peugeot and also how the XM name was derived in Nov 1988.
X from the AX, BX & CX range added to M taken from the SM.

John

Hi, thanks for that. It seems for the moment that the "last real Citroen" quote will be mothballed until I come up with a written source. The Daily Telegraph article doesn´t count as it was based on the Wikipedia page. Cheers!

Of course, if there was a "last real Citroen", there must also have been a "first real Citroen" What model would that have been?

The first real Rover was a bicycle... And they're still some diagreement about which was the last - although probably the SD1. After that, it all got decidedly messy with Honda, BMW, Towers, and finally India, with the badge put on almost anything. A long goodbye.

Aren't there still Rovers being built in China? I know it got decidedly messy, with one company getting the manufacturing rights to (among others) the 75, but not the name, as that had already been sold to another company for a knock down price who thought they were also getting the manufacturing rights.

I think the first Citroen car was the Type A (as apposed to the A series), although the first Citroen product was double helical gears, hence the badge.

There was a Citroen bicycle, but I don't think think there was a direct connection to the car company, although it may have been a relative that ran that business.