Citroën N2 

The Citroën ZX , shown to the press in January 1991 and put on sale three months later represented Citroën's first foray into the marketplace as a generalist. 

The ZX, known by the codename N2 brought the number of models to four within the Citroën range which in 1991 comprised the AX, BX and XM .

Compared with Citroën's last venture into this market sector, the GS , the ZX appeared to be utterly conventional - no hydropneumatic suspension, instead it employed a conventional set up similar to that of the AX, albeit with the passive steer rear axle first fitted to the XM.

Projet N2 was born in the mid eighties and Bertone was brought in to work in tandem with the styling centres at Vélizy (Citroën) and Carrières-sous-Poissy (PSA).

The pictures on the right and below left show a Bertone exercise which draws strongly on the XM for inspiration.

In 1986, Bertone created the car shown in the picture below right, this time drawing on some of the styling cues of the BX.

Bertone also worked on the interior but this proposal (above) was deemed to simplistic for a mid-range model.

Right three 1985 proposals from Stile Bertone who were headed by Marc Deschamps.

The car above was the Vélizy proposal which properly fulfilled the simple classicism sought by the management.
Below - very close to the car that made it into production.

Above and below - another Vélizy proposal, this time created by Donato Coco who was in charge of this project and who was also responsible for the ZX 's successor, the Xsara .