1973 Citroen SM

In the 1960s, Citroen entered into negotiations with several companies including Maserati, the result of which was the SM sports coupe with a 3.0 liter, 4 valves, V-8 engine developing 180 horsepower. This drove the front wheels via a five-speed synchromesh gearbox. It featured power steering and disc brakes.

Work began on 'Project S' in 1961 to create a sportier version of the popular and high-volume Citroen DS. Many concepts were developed during the nearly decade-long project, and during that time, Citroen purchased Maserati in 1968. Both companies benefitted from this acquisition, with Maserati having access to Citroen's plentiful parts bin, and Citroen gaining access to Maserati's high-performance engine technology, experience, and expertise.

In March of 1970, Citroen introduced the 'SM' at the Geneva Motor Show, with sales commencing in France later that year, in September. All examples that left the factory had left-hand-drive configuration, however, right-hand-drive convertibles were available from aftermarket companies.

The origin of the name remains a mystery, with several theories including the 'S' may be in reference to the Project 'S' designation. Since it was a sportier version of the Citroen DS, the 'M' perhaps refers to Maserati. It is often assumed the SM represents 'Systeme Maserati' - translated to 'Sports Maserati' - or 'Serie Maserati.' Other theories suggest the name represents 'Sa Majesté' (Her Majesty in French), which would complement the DS model's nickname of 'La déesse' (The Goddess).

The completely new engine was designed by Giulio Alfieri and given an unusual 90-degree angle between cylinder banks allowing it to be assembled on existing V8 tooling. The engine was compact and lightweight, and later versions would be used by Maserati to power its junior mid-engine supercar, the Merak. The 2.7-liter size was selected to limit the tax owners would have to pay to satisfy the French puissance fiscale taxation. With three Weber 42DCNF carburetors, the 309-pound engine, mounted behind the front axle, delivered nearly 170 horsepower.

Many innovations pioneered on the DS were incorporated into the SM, including the self-leveling lights that swiveled with the steering and the hydro-pneumatic (oleo-pneumatic) self-leveling suspension. The self-leveling lights were illegal in the United States and vehicles exported there were devoid of this feature.

One of the controversial but advanced features of the SM was its variable-assist power steering. Since it was a rather powerful front-wheel-drive vehicle, steering (at the time) was unpredictable at high speed. To increase safety, a new proprietary steering system was developed by Citroen called DIRAVI, which adjusted hydraulic pressure on the steering centering cam based on vehicle speed, resulting in predictable steering at any speed. It required little effort from the driver to turn at low speeds and more effort at a higher speed. When the steering wheel was released, the steering would return to center - a straight-ahead position.

The braking system used on the DS was modified for use on the SM. While the DS used rear drum brakes, the SM had disc brakes at all four corners, with the front brakes being inboard, and were cooled by large ducts located on the underside of the car, near the front. The hydraulic braking pressure is self-adjusted from front to rear depending on the weight distribution of the vehicle.

At the time, Citroen was the world leader in passenger car aerodynamics, and the SM continued this trend with a class-leading drag coefficient that allowed it to reach 140 mph, making it the fastest front-wheel-drive car ever at that time. The styling was by Citroen's chief designer Robert Opron, who penned similar lines to the Citroen CX and Citroen GS. The CX's rear fender skirts were applied to the SM, a Kamm tail was in the back, and it had a wide front frack and a narrower rear track.

The interior featured oval gauges and highly adjustable bucket seats with center padding formed from many individual 'rolls.'

Fuel injection replaced the carburetors in 1972, an automatic transmission option became available in 1973 and the engine was enlarged to 2,965 cc. Production continued until 1975 following Citröen's acquisition by Peugeot.

In 1971, the SM placed third in the European Car of the Year contest and won the Motor Trend Car of the Year award in the United States in 1972.

During its production lifespan, a total of 12,920 examples were built. 868 examples were sold in its inaugural year, followed by 4,988 in 1971 - its best year. From there, sales dipped to 4,036 in 1972 before falling even further to 2,619 in 1973. Just 294 were sold in 1974 and 115 in its final year. Approximately 2,400 examples were sold to the North American market in 1972 and 1973.

by Dan Vaughan

Hatchback Coupe

The Citroen SM was a grand touring machine that was in production from 1970-74. It was powered by a 3.0-litre, V-6 Maserati engine with Weber 42 DCNF carburetors. It has front-wheel drive and hydro-pneumatic suspension.

A total of 12,000 SM series cars were built but only 2,300 were exported to the U.S. market. This model, which was delivered to the U.S. in 1973, includes the rare sunroof option.

The car was originally restored in 1980. After being lost in a divorce in 1995 and being placed in storage it was reacquired by the owner in 2007 and re-restored in 2008-09. The owner personally performed half of the restoration work.

Hatchback Coupe
Chassis number: AC7300SD0707

Maserati was purchased from the Orsi family by Citroen in 1968, giving Maserati much-needed financial security plus the benefits that accrue to a large-scale auto-maker. For Citroen, they gained access to high-performance engine technology. One Citroen vehicle to receive Maserati technology was the SM. It had Citroen's avant-grade styling and remarkable hydro-pneumatic suspension, braking and steering. The engine was a Maserati-designed and built V-6 DOHC unit that was based on the Italian company's V-8. The United States was the intended market and was introduced there in the early 1970s, evening winning the 1972 Motor Trend Car of the Year prize.

1973 would be the last year for the SM in the United States. The 1974 cars were unable to meet US safety regulations and Citroen was essentially forced out of the market.

This 1973 SM is finished in metallic beige with brown leather. In 2008, this car was awarded Best in Class at the 2008 Concorso Italiano.

In 2010, this car was offered for sale at the Gooding & Company auction in Pebble Beach, CA where it was estimated to sell for $50,000 - $70,000. As bidding came to a close, the car had been sold for the sum of $50,600 including buyer's premium.

by Dan Vaughan

Hatchback Coupe
Chassis number: 00SB9279

This Citroen was completed for North American export in May of 1972 and sold new in Toronto, Ontario. In 2014, the car was given a cosmetic restoration which included the installation of new carpets and refurbishment of the original interior's brown leather. At that time, the car was also re-painted in the original color of gold metallic. Power is from a Maserati, dual overhead cam V-6 engine fitted with three Weber 42 DCNF 2-barrel carburetors and offering 170 horsepower. There is a five-speed manual transmission and hydraulic disc brakes at all four corners. It has the cutting-edge hydraulic suspension and variable-assist steering system. The car has its original tools, owner's manual, and a warranty booklet.

by Dan Vaughan

Hatchback Coupe
Chassis number: 00SC2891

The Citroen SM was a combination of the French automaker's technology with the performance of a Maserati V-6. The engine was placed in the front of the car, but far back in the chassis, predicting the 'front-mid-engined' layout. It was given Citroen's own pneumatic suspension, which could be adjusted to suit the road surface. The bodywork was aerodynamic, helping the car achieved a top speed of 140 mph. This made it the fastest front-wheel drive automobile ever built at the time.

Famous owners of the Citroen SM included Bonanza actor Lorne Greene, the Shah of Iran, both Cheech and Chong, Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, two members of the Rolling Stones, and Carlos Santana. Between 1970 and 1972, 12,920 were made, of which only 2,400 were originally delivered to the United States.

This particular example was maintained in Italy prior to its current ownership. It is finished in Pearl Grey with its original black interior, and is equipped with the five-speed manual gearbox. It is a European-specification model so it has the iconic headlamps that turn with the front wheels to 'see' around corners. The engine is a Dual Overhead Cam V-6 unit fitted with fuel injection and offering 180 horsepower. It has a five-speed manual transmission, hydro-pneumatic suspension with front parallel control arms, and four-wheel disc brakes.

by Dan Vaughan

Hatchback Coupe

When Citroën introduced the SM to the automotive world in 1970, it was heralded as one of the most technologically advanced cars ever produced. It combined an array of innovative features. The hydropneumatic, manually adjustable and self leveling suspension as well as variable rate hydraulic steering, all powered by a 2.7 Liter, V6 Maserati engine topped with 3 two barrel Weber carburetors, made the Citroën SM the ultimate grand touring car.

This car is a low mileage example with all stock features except for a Porsche Guards Red color change.

Hatchback Coupe
Chassis number: 00SD0265

The Citroen SM began in 1961 with the Project S, a GT concept of the Citroen DS. Following nine years of development, the Project S evolved from the sporty DS into an entirely new car. It was a Tour de Force of engineering and technology and was certainly one of the world's most exotic vehicles on the road.

The Citroen SM was introduced in March of 1970 at the Geneva Motor Show. Power was from a 2.7-liter Maserati V-6 engine, sending output to the front wheels. Innovative features included the variable-assist power-steering system, known as DIRAVI—or Direction a rappel asservi. In the U.S. it was marketed as SpeedFeel, and essentially offered more steering assist at low speeds and less assist at higher speeds.

This particular Citroen SM is fitted with an aluminum Maserati V-6 fed by three Weber carburetors and backed by a five-speed manual transmission. It has power windows, factory air conditioning, and hydraulically assisted steering, suspension and braking. This SM is one of 1,150 cars which came to the United States in 1973.

by Dan Vaughan

Hatchback Coupe

With only 18,000 original miles, this SM has been superbly maintained. It was repainted because of the 1970s water-based clear coat that grazed very easily.

Hatchback Coupe

The owner of this vehicle decided to restore one last SM and made it the Piece de Resistance of his nearly 50-year Citroen SM career. Everything has been improved, replaced, or refurbished on this car. If Citroen were to build a new SM in 2021, it wouldn't be much different from this one.

Since its founding in 1919, Citroen has consistently produced some of the most innovative cars in the world. From the diminutive Deux Chevaux to the smooth and regal DS, the French carmaker's history is filled with avant-garde designs and adventurous engineering forays. Some of Citroen's innovations caught on, such as the manufacturer's early adoption of front-wheel-drive and aerodynamic body styling. Other hallmark features of the carmaker's products, though, remained idiosyncratic novelties. Apparently, nobody else understood the benefit of a central hydropneumatic system that controlled the power steering, power brakes, and height-adjustable suspension all at the same time…

But while many of Citroen's signature engineering touches were too complicated and risky for other carmakers to adopt, they endowed Citroen's products with a mechanical finesse and individuality rarely seen on high-volume automobiles. Citroen developed elegant solutions to problems that most manufacturers simply ignored. Knowing that people drove their cars on all sorts of roads, Citroen created an ultra-smooth suspension that was height-adjustable so drivers could cope with various road surface qualities. The real-world advantages of front-wheel-drive and aerodynamic bodies were being discovered by more and more carmakers and buyers.

In the decades following World War II, Citroen's 2CV and DS proved that innovation could sell. Both of those models realized huge production figures, and both were produced for many years. But when 1970 rolled around, the French brand decided to try something riskier: a sporty Citroen.

The DS and 2CV were both excellent cars exhibiting great attention to detail. Their roles, though, were staid. The DS was a family car. The 2CV was an economy car. So when Citroen decided to challenge the automotive establishment with a sporty car of its own, they had little experience in producing vehicles whose real ambitions were to become heroes of the racetrack or playthings of the rich and famous. The sporty Citroen, the SM, accordingly sold slowly and puzzled potential customers. Why should any car with sporting intentions need a height-adjustable suspension? Why such an unconventional shape? And why front-wheel-drive?

Had the SM been a true sports car, these features may have been a death sentence. In reality, though, the SM was a grand tourer—and Citroen knew that its idiosyncratic design traits had just as much business belonging to a GT car as to a family sedan. The advanced suspension ensured a good ride quality on all road surfaces. The aerodynamics lowered noise levels at high speed and provided better fuel economy, both important characteristics in a vehicle intended to swallow distance in suave comfort. And the front-wheel-drive endowed the SM with great usability, with surefooted road manners and impressive foul-weather capabilities.

Driving enthusiasts often derided front-engined, front-wheel-drive cars for their unwieldy forward weight bias, a feature that tends to result in heavy understeer and sloppy handling. The SM, though, was technically a mid-engined car: its engine fit entirely behind the front axle line. Coupled with an advanced steering system, this front-mid-engined layout enabled the SM to avoid some of the inherently placid handling characteristics of a front-wheel-driver. The Citroen's handling may have even been too lively for some drivers, with its quick steering a copious body roll likely surprising more than a few first-time pilots.

The front-mid placement of the SM's engine accounted for much of the car's character, but the engine itself accounted for far more. The all-aluminum V6 was an advanced motor. With very oversquare bore/stroke dimensions, revs came easily. Dual overhead cams per cylinder bank and three Weber carburetors served as visual indicators of the engine's exotic nature. But, for the uninformed, the real surprise came from the name scrawled on the valve covers: Maserati.

Prior to the SM, Citroen had created marvelous cars with advanced engineering and lovely styling—but the company's engines remained conventional and boring. The SM, then, represented the first (and arguably only) Citroen to have it all: complicated and exquisite engineering, aerodynamic and enticing styling, and finally an engine that deserved to tote the whole package around.

The Maserati motor beneath the SM's hood was no coincidence. Citroen purchased Maserati from the Orsi family in 1968, in a bizarre merger that resulted in some predictably bizarre vehicles. Two of those Franco-Italian oddballs, the Citroen SM and Maserati Merak, were wholly developed under Citroen's ownership of Maserati and intended from the start to share a new, Maserati-developed V6. Surprisingly, this engine ended up in the SM two years before the Merak, as that Maserati did not reach production until 1972.

Citroen knew that its staid engines didn't do justice to its cars' advanced designs. This was less of a problem in a sedan like the DS, but an opulent GT machine like the SM would have made no sense without a suitably charismatic engine. The Maserati V6 helped turn the SM into a world-class grand touring car that supplemented a signature Citroen package with some bought-in Italian charm.

And yet, for all its strengths and innovations, it somehow comes as no surprise that the SM sold poorly. The SM was a great car, but it just wasn't what people wanted. The styling was exciting but not sexy. The performance was competent but not exhilarating. But perhaps the car's biggest shortcoming was no problem of its own. The people who buy, and bought, lavish GT cars want to be seen when they arrive. Competing cars from more prestigious brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz surely hurt SM sales, particularly in the brand- and image-conscious American market. When a BMW pulled up in front of a restaurant, passers-by saw a successful person. But when a Citroen SM pulled up behind, people only saw a funky car—one that, for many onlookers, probably looked more like a submarine or a humpback whale than a traditional grand tourer.

Even if a large market had existed for a car like the SM, though, the grand touring Citroen still had some unflattering traits. Its hydropneumatic suspension/steering/braking would have been known well to Citroen shops the world over, but the short supply of Citroen mechanics in America ensured that an SM would never be as reliable or affordable to service as its more common competitors. Additionally, many buyers may have scoffed at the Citroen's front-wheel-drive, and still more likely preferred the flatter cornering of more stiffly-suspended competition.

Over a half-decade of production, Citroen produced just under 13,000 examples of the SM. Following the oil crisis of 1973, the carmaker ran into great financial difficulties and in 1974 Peugeot absorbed Citroen. The following year, the new Peugeot-Citroen group sold off Maserati to Alejandro DeTomaso. A strange era had ended, taking with it one of the most exciting and belligerently individualistic Citroens ever created.

Sources:

'Citroen SM Buyers Guide.' Citroen Concours of America. n.d. n. page. Web. 5 Jun. 2012. http://www.citroen-ca.com/SMguide.html.

Koch, Jeff. 'Cammer Chameleons.' Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car. Feb 2012: 18-25. Print.

'Maserati's History.' Maserati. n.d. n. page. Web. 5 Jun. 2012. http://www.maserati.com/maserati/en/en/index/passion/company/history/recent-years.html.

by Evan Acuña

The name SM stands for Serie Maserati. It began production in 1970. The Italian based company Maserati was the supplier of the engine.

The quad-cam V-6 engine, located in the front of the vehicle, was based on Maserati's V8. The V8 would have been used but it was too powerful for the front-wheel drive vehicle and would have extended the hood of the car too far. The V6 ended up being an unreliable engine that needed constant re-tuning. Fuel consumption was poor, but on the bright side, it could go from zero-to-sixty in 8.5 seconds and reach a top speed of around 142 miles-per-hour.

The SM featured a self-leveling hydro-pneumatic suspension that gave the car a soft, smooth ride. There was a lot of body roll during cornering and under high velocity. The height of the vehicle could be set from inside the vehicle.

The cramped interior had a single-spoke steering wheel and oval instruments that was intended to be futuristic in appearance. The outside of this super-car was sleek and smooth. The SM was very innovative and used technology that was rather creative. The front of the car had six lights, three on each side of the vehicle. The middle lights would move with the steering wheel, illuminating the path of the vehicle. The disc brakes were very sensitive and responsive due to the power-brake hydraulic system. This took some time getting used to, and usually resulted in screeching-stops.

In 1974 Citroen was sold to Peugeot and the SM was dropped from the line-up. Peugeot then sold Maserati in May of 1975.

by Dan Vaughan