Ladies and gentlement, your attention please.
We’d like to raise our glasses to toast what is possibly the most iconic coupé to bear the twin chevrons of Citroën, the Citroën SM. It’s been exactly forty years since this legendary luxury sports tourer made its world debut at the 1970 Geneva motor Show, the product of Citroën design and engineering combined with Maserati engine technology. A showroom stunner that dripped in futuristic styling cues while displaying road performance that was years ahead of its time, the Citroën SM was an industry and enthusiast favorite.
The Citroën SM was the French marque’s flagship model, cometing directly with the Jaguars, Ferraris and Aston Martins of its time. A Maserati V6 engine provided the power to propel this performance tourer to a top speed of over 220km/h and give it the capability to cruise comfortably at 200km/h, making the Citroën SM one of the fastest front-wheel drive cars of its time.
Aside from power, the Citroën SM had other tricks up its sleeve, including Citroën’s much vaunted hydro-pneumatic suspension system which gave the SM its exceptionally comfortable ride, and a variable assist power steering system, which made it easier to maneuver at low speed while providing greater feedback and resistance while carving down a mountain road at high speed.
All these served the sports tourer well, the SM winning its first-ever race at the 1971 Rallye du Maroc. It garnered much praise among industry peers, placing third in the 1971 European Car of the year Awards and even winning American magazine Motor Trend’s Car of the Year award in 1972.
Proud owners of the Citroën SM have included comedians Jay Leno,Cheech Marin and Thomas Chong, Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts and author Graham Greene. The Ugandan strongman Idi Amin liked them so much that he bought seven of them. Even dictators recognize a classic when they see one.
Source Citroën UK
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