Good Find Friday features interesting vehicles we’ve found for sale while conducting market analysis or appraisal research. They are not for sale by Wolf and Mare and we have no business relationship with the sellers. We just think they’re worth learning about and sharing with our readers!

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Today’s post is the third in our series of Good Find Friday articles dedicated to The Cars of Ronin. Last week’s feature car was dear to my heart as a Volkswagen fan, but it had very little screen time. Today’s car is the first to be featured in an extended chase scene between the mercenary protagonists and mysterious villains. For these reasons, this 1993 Citroén XM is a must-have in your Cars of Ronin collection.

Released in 1998, Ronin is a crime thriller set in Europe and directed by the legendary director John Frankenheimer. The story follows a group of professional mercenaries hired to steal a mysterious metal case, depicting their planning, shifting alliances, and pursuit across Paris and the south of France. It’s a fantastic piece of cinema with a terrific ensemble cast and is one of my all-time favorite movies.

Thanks to the movie’s extended and realistically staged car chases that eschew visual effects in favor of real action (aside from a somewhat pitiful use of digital smoke in one scene), Ronin has become a cult film among automotive enthusiasts.

In addition to the cars most associated with the film, such as the Audi S8, Citroën XM, Peugeot 406, BMW 535i/M5 and Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9, I plan to feature a few more cars that received a good chunk of screen time but have been overlooked by enthusiasts.

The Citroën XM was introduced in 1989 as the company’s new flagship, developed to replace the CX and to reestablish Citroën in the European executive-car segment. Designed by Bertone under Marc Deschamps, the XM combined a wedge-shaped exterior with a large, aerodynamically efficient hatchback body. It was manufactured primarily at Citroën’s Rennes-la-Janais plant in Brittany, with production running until 2000. Over its lifespan, approximately 330,000 units were built, the majority sold in Western Europe, with France, Germany, and the UK as its strongest markets.

At launch, the XM received significant attention from the automotive press and was named European Car of the Year for 1990. Contemporary reviews frequently highlighted its ride quality and road manners, largely attributed to the Hydractive hydropneumatic suspension; Car magazine described it as offering “a level of comfort unmatched by any rival.” Early coverage was also tempered by reports of electrical and build-quality issues, which several publications noted affected buyer confidence in the first years of production.

Despite later revisions that improved reliability and a revision to the suspension system that addressed customer complaints about the ride, the XM never achieved the broad commercial adoption Citroën had hoped for when compared to the DS and CX.

Multiple years of Citroén XM were used to represent a single car, giving us the option to choose XMs built from 1989-1995. Today’s Good Find Friday car is a 1993 Citroén XM located in France and listed on the selling dealer’s website with an asking price of €12,000 or about $14,150.

In Ronin, the team of mercenaries is tasked with retrieving a metal case from a group of toughs that travel around in a group of dark-colored French sedans, including a Citroén XM as the main baddy’s ride. While today’s car isn’t black, it is in great condition with the desirable 24-valve V6 engine and a manual transmission.

The silver paintwork looks to be in overall very good condition, with some scuffs here and there on the bumpers. The dramatic wedge shape, notched beltline and body creases are much more visible on this color than on black. As a bonus, this car looks very similar to the XM featured in the promotion photo with Nuccio Bertone.

Sporting the same alloy wheel design as the 1989 Citroén featured in Ronin, this car would look fantastic being chased by an E34 BMW 5-Series.

In Ronin, the case-wielding villains stay in a posh hotel on the French Riviera, so this car’s luxurious interior is more suitable than the cloth upholstery often seen on the Citroén XM. Silver over black is a great combination and this car features leather seating surfaces and even a leather-wrapped steering wheel. The judicious use of real wood trim in a tasteful shade adds more elegance to the cockpit.

The engine bay is the most disappointing part of this example, with worn and aged finishes, dirt and some light corrosion visible. The car has just 60,000 original miles on the odometer and the engine bay doesn’t appear to have been cared for as well as the rest of the car.

With an estimated 197 horsepower and 191 lb-ft of torque mated to a 5-speed manual transmission, the XM could accelerate from 0-100km/hr in 8.6s. Not overly quick, but not dog-slow either. Fuel consumption was pretty good for a large 6-cylinder sedan, with an estimated 21 miles-per-gallon in combined city/highway driving. Range was a respectable 436 miles, or just enough to travel from Nice, France to Rome, Barcelona or Zurich without filling up.

In-period, the XM suffered from high depreciation due to perceived reliability issues, which led to poor resale and a cycle of declining value. Today, values vary significantly based on mileage, specification and condition.

Still, the majority of retail prices for the Citroén XM range from €2,000-€9,000 with exceptional cars selling reaching into the €20Ks. Public sales data is scant, but using my usual sources the average value across all Citroén XM cars is about $8,291.

In the United States, the Citroén XM is very rare, and I was unable to find any for sale in the USA from any source. Therefore, if you want to add an XM to your Cars of Ronin collection, you’ll need to import one from Europe.

I have to admit, looking at the interior condition of this Citroén XM and its desirable options I’m quite tempted to bring it over myself! What do you think? Does today’s good find live up to the name? Let me know in the comments!

Wolf and Mare provides car finding, appraisal and auction services for sellers and buyers of collector European cars. We also provide importation services. Give us a call or drop us a line!