The XM overall design theme was done by Marc Deschamp then director of design for Bertone.

However, my team at Velizy did much refinement work on the exterior particularly at the front and rear ends. We also did the interior, wheels etc.. I felt strongly that the Bertone theme looked too short and narrow for this class of car; it was to compete against the MB 300, BMW 5 series,etc. As a result, my team was given the opportunity to propose revisions to the theme to correct the weaknesses I saw. My version did better than the Bertone  in a clinic, however, the Direction decided to stick to the Bertone theme because the Citroen BX designed by Gandini while at Bertone had been a commercial success and thus they had confidence in his ideas. The car did win European car of the year, however,was only a modest success in Europe. Unfortunately it failed miserably when market tested in the US. . Below is the proposal we did to enhance the Bertone theme plus my favorite proposal from the Velizy team which I believe was more in the spirit of Citroen. At the bottom is an early sketch I did with a a more 3 box configuration. I felt this would make the car more competitive in this market segment. History shows that I was probably right. Design done in1984/5.

Olsen Mod.’s :  faster kickup on beltline at C/D pillar, dropped rear wheel arch to allow side moulding to continue through, wrapped tail lamps for visual width, fuller body  section to enhance robust character.

VELIZY PROPOSAL 1

Olsen 3 box sketch