Is the Citroen SM better than the DS?

Cars

There’s always been a lingering desire here at Influx Towers to make a controversial statement – one that will have aficionados of the three chevrons reaching for their Forum logins. The SM is better than the DS! And if such a thing were needed, to support out claim we have uploaded for your perusla one of the loveliest car brochures we have ever come across.

The SM – as a rather unlikely collaboration between the behemoth French car manufacturer and the trident wielding style merchants Maserati. Maser had been in a spot of financial bother and were bought out by Citroen – who were keen to harness their experience in proven performance engines. By the time the SM was launched in 1970 however, France had been wracked by a political upheaval and an oil crisis that had the French industry teetering on the edge of collapse. Sometimes of course, crisis creates amazingly creative opportunities.

The beauty of the SM’s lines, penned by inhouse design chief Robert Opron, weren’t its only claim to immortality. Typically of Citroen of the time it was packed with technical innovation too; those swivelling, self-stabilising lights, the speed sensitive steering setup, a record breaking drag coefficient and creatively rendered, beautifully finished interior also put clear water between it and anything in its market.

But despite the SM’s undeniable radicalness (and perhaps in part because of it), in 1974 Citroen went skint too: and the subsequent off-hiring of their Italian cousins finally killed off what we reckon is the sexiest French car, like, ever.

We’re not sure who is responsible for the amazing brochure we’ve uploaded below, but to that forgotten graphiste, we raise our hats!









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2 Responses to “Is the Citroen SM better than the DS?”

  1. vipertruck99

    and simply the best car interior ever,second place also to citroen with the mk1 cx turbo gti.alfa montreal a possible 3rd place,but not even close to the first 2.

  2. Maurizio Marini

    Nice pics from the SM brochure, those images are from Sarah Moon (Helmut Newton’s wife) except the last, with Ilaria in yellow dress, that is mine, shooted near Siena more than 15 years ago for the Citroën Italy 2002 calendar…