1972 Citroen SM
With the purchase of Maserati in 1968, Citroen had set the stage to begin producing its most technically advanced car to date, it was to be their flagship vehicle.
Citroen took existing technology from its DS model, while significantly improving some of those already advanced systems, and paired it with the smooth and respectably powerful Maserati 2.7 V6.
Virtually nothing on the SM is typical or standard in car design including advanced aerodynamic design innovations such as flat under panels to smooth air flow under car, the kam-tail design, and adjustable height settings for traveling at autobahn speeds. That variable height adjustability came courtesy of the unique self-leveling completely hydro-pneumatic suspension. The advanced hydraulic system also serves to allow the head lights to swivel while turning and keep them self-leveling over transitions and bumps.The same system also played an integral part in creating the vehicle's DIRAVI steering system that was first introduced with the SM in 1970.
Indeed those system are only the tip of the iceberg. This car was truly revolutionary.
This example came in to have a rough running, poor power issue resolved. Poking around under the hood found that an emissions charcoal canister had failed with age, clogging lots of components with bits of charcoal. Primarily, it needed to have its 3 Weber 42 DCNF carburetors removed, cleaned, rebuilt and re-synced, along with some other basic maintenance needs.
This particular SM was a very low mileage, and almost completely original as it came from Citroen. It was our pleasure to have the opportunity to work on such a unique vehicle, and we were happy to see it drive away with that Maserati power plant purring like it's supposed to!
Citroen took existing technology from its DS model, while significantly improving some of those already advanced systems, and paired it with the smooth and respectably powerful Maserati 2.7 V6.
Virtually nothing on the SM is typical or standard in car design including advanced aerodynamic design innovations such as flat under panels to smooth air flow under car, the kam-tail design, and adjustable height settings for traveling at autobahn speeds. That variable height adjustability came courtesy of the unique self-leveling completely hydro-pneumatic suspension. The advanced hydraulic system also serves to allow the head lights to swivel while turning and keep them self-leveling over transitions and bumps.The same system also played an integral part in creating the vehicle's DIRAVI steering system that was first introduced with the SM in 1970.
Indeed those system are only the tip of the iceberg. This car was truly revolutionary.
This example came in to have a rough running, poor power issue resolved. Poking around under the hood found that an emissions charcoal canister had failed with age, clogging lots of components with bits of charcoal. Primarily, it needed to have its 3 Weber 42 DCNF carburetors removed, cleaned, rebuilt and re-synced, along with some other basic maintenance needs.
This particular SM was a very low mileage, and almost completely original as it came from Citroen. It was our pleasure to have the opportunity to work on such a unique vehicle, and we were happy to see it drive away with that Maserati power plant purring like it's supposed to!
