Sunday 5th November 2017

Citroen SM: Spotted

What's in a name? Why this Spotted is worth its price tag.

---

If you want to be a great car designer an exotic name helps. Think Giorgetto Giugiaro, Marcello Gandini and Sergio Pininfarina.

Compared with those, Robert Opron doesn't sound so exotic. Nevertheless, behind that simple name is an artistic genius fit to rival any - he was the man who designed the Citroen SM and then, as if that weren't enough, went on to sketch the GS and the CX. Later still, his preliminary sketches became the Alfa Romeo SZ that, depending on your point of view, is either truly stunning or unhesitatingly awful, but either way difficult to ignore.

The London-based specialist dealer Classic Chrome has been very apposite in using his name in the blurb accompanying the sale of this wonderful SM. All SMs are wonderful, of course, but not all are in as good a condition as this one appears to be. First registered in 1973, the car has covered only 76,000 miles from new, and, even better than that, has recently been maintained by renowned Citroen SM specialist Andrew Brodie, a man who knows his oleo-pneumatics. It has a full and comprehensive service history and looks good value at £34,995, especially so considering how much more is often charged for classic cars of considerably less interest.

Why buy an SM? It was a triumph of systems engineering, for one, and, like the GS and CX, and the DS before that, it was, by the standards of its time, a remarkably modern car. Then there's that wonderfully aerodynamic shape, the magnificent hydropneumatic suspension, the unparalleled ride comfort, the pin-sharp steering (with its zero castor, zero camber and zero kingpin inclination), those weird brakes, the delicious seats, the swivelling lights and, oh okay, that engine too, the Maserati V6.

Of course it'll cost a fortune to maintain, but you would be joining the ranks of past SM owners that included two Rolling Stones, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts. Charlie can't even drive, but presumably he too couldn't resist the allure of the SM...

Mark Pearson

---

CITROEN SM
Engine: 2,670cc, V6
Transmission: Five-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 170@5,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 170@4,000rpm
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
First registered: 1973
Recorded mileage: 76,000 miles
Price new: N/A
Yours for: £34,995

See the original advert here

[vixen1700]

Sat in one at the 1972 motor show when I was 6 and it started my love of cars. Dad ordered a GS from the Citroen stand

Have a picture of me somewhere standing next to a blue RHD SM taken in the mid 1970s.

Never been brave enough to buy one though.

[vixen1700]

Still have the brochure from 1972, that was a work of art in itself.

[vixen1700]

Found it!

RHD SM probably taken around 1974/75 at some sort of car event in the wilds of Essex somewhere.

Not sure what's worse, my hair/clothes/glasses or the wing mirrors.