Projet XB - Citroën BX prototypes
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Above left, above right and below right: towards the end of the 1960s Robert Opron envisaged a single volume car and recruited Jean Giret who made these models.
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Above, below and below right: models by Jean Giret building on the design imagined by Robert Opron.
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Above and left not a pair of GSs but a BX mule - note widened C pillar
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Above and left these designs date from 1977
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Above and below this one is from 1978
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Above right and below a strong Peugeot influence is obvious in this prototype dating from 1979 above left and in the left of the picture above and below left
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Right one of many proposals for frontal treatment
Above, below left and below right an early proposal by Bertone
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Above one of Bertone's sketches for the forthcoming BX.
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Bertone was finally given the go ahead for his design above which strongly recalled that of his Volvo Tundra prototype of 1979 below, built on the floorpan of the Volvo 343 and the Reliant FW11 prototype also from 1979.
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Below Volvo Tundra
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Reliant FW11 prototype above, above right, below and below right.
Although the frontal treatment of the FW11 was unlike that of the BX,
the profile and rear (see blue car below) are very close to that of the
BX.
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Above left, above right and left design sketches
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Four dashboard proposals - the picture bottom right
shows a layout that is very close to the definitive one that went into
production and interestingly features the steering wheel radio controls
that first saw the light of day in the 1989 XM.
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A three door break proposal from Heuliez right
Below left and below right a 1982 Citroën design team proposal for a BX Coupé - some of the styling elements were incorporated into the design of the XM .
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... and finally, another pair of BX coupés - from the pens of Bertone, left and Heuliez below left and below right
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Above the front suspension featured MacPherson struts which use the axis of the hydropneumatic
telescopic strut as the upper steering pivot. Thanks to its
simplicity and low manufacturing cost, it is a popular choice in cars
but the design has a number of disadvantages in the quality of ride and
the handling of the car since it cannot allow vertical movement of the
wheel without some degree of either camber angle change, sideways
movement, or both. It does not give as good handling as a double
wishbone suspension, because it allows the engineers less freedom to
choose camber change and roll centre. The BX was criticised for
not providing as good a ride as either the CX or GS.
Furthermore it transmits noise and vibration from the road directly
into the body shell, resulting in higher noise levels and a "harsh"
feeling to the ride compared with double wishbones.
Below the rear suspension was based on that of the GS, albeit re-engineered to make it lighter and to allow easier access to the suspension spheres for maintenance.
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A
special thanks to Declan Berridge and Keith Adams for some of the
images on this page and to Dave Poole for the pictures of the Reliant FW11
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