#citroen SM

[eightiesfan]

Concorde & Citroën SM (mid 70s)

[cosmonautroger]

Citroen SM

[elsipe]

[radracer]

Citroen SM

[les-belles-mecaniques]

Citroen SM, 1971

[seat-safety-switch]

Bonjour! Heh heh, just a little French there. You know, I’m part French-Canadian. My great uncle was too, of course, although the reason why he was and my grandmother wasn’t is a matter of family history that I’m not about to delve into. What’s important to know here is that, by this law that I just read about on a truck’s bumper sticker at the junkyard, I have a hereditary claim to many of France’s fine automobiles.

I’d always felt weird driving around in American cars, and now I know why. In retrospect, I gravitated to cars with French names: Volare, Parisienne, Trans Am Turbo. Genes don’t lie, and I was destined for greater things. Smooching at the Louvre. Smoking in Laval. Cretons spread in Quebec City on an old Eggo I found at the bottom of the freezer basket. And Twingos. It turns out that I’m so French that you should probably be reading these words on a Minitel.

Sure, a hater (and there are many of those out there, due to France’s dominance of culture) would claim that they made lots of bad things too. Those things, however, are actually good things. Witness the Citroen SM, an early attempt to fix Italian cars by marrying them with fine engineering. I can’t afford a working one, but I can sure as hell get a rusted hulk, pull out that glass toy of a Fascist engine, chuck a loose Cavalier 2.2L into it, and drive to the wine-by-the-litre store. Is “Cavalier” a French word? Pretty sure it’s a kind of dog over there.

Things are hard for people like myself. As you might be aware, Canada is a divided country, full of Anglo supremacists who shit on proud Francophones like myself. Well, I’m not really a Francophone – I failed Grade 4 French after I wouldn’t stop hyperfixating on the parts of the Tintin book where he is clearly cranking the engine on a 2CV in the wrong direction – but the point stands. The oppressors in Ottawa are keeping me from getting my rightful shitboxes, a proud front lawn full of Citroen BXes, LeCars, and the aforementioned Twingos.

Hold on, it’s my mom on the phone. Hi Mom, I was just telling the internet about my ne – great-grandpa fucked what? Who? When? Okay, I’ll come over this weekend and help you put the new 7M in. Yeah, I know Dad fucked up the torque sequence on the head bolts. He can’t read a service manual, you know that. Okay, love you.

Well, turns out I’m also part Italian. I’d like to take back everything I just said about the Citroen SM’s Maserati engine. Well, maybe not everything. A vee-six is still against everything I believe in. At least until I start asking more questions at the retirement home.

[darac198]

[italiancarssince1946]

1972 Frua Citroen SM

My tumblr-blogs:

www.tumblr.com/germancarssince1946 & www.tumblr.com/frenchcarssince1946 & www.tumblr.com/englishcarssince1946 & www.tumblr.com/italiancarssince1946 & www.tumblr.com/japanesecarssince1947 & www.tumblr.com/uscarssince1935

[visionade]

[mopsburgfalls]

SM

the future is leaking

[0hn0n0tagain]

[specialcar]

1971 Citroen SM cabriolet

[cosmonautroger]

[sexdrugsnracknpinion]

[frenchcarssince1946]

1972 Citroen SM Opera by Chapron

My tumblr-blogs: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/germancarssince1946 & https://www.tumblr.com/blog/frenchcarssince1946 & https://www.tumblr.com/blog/englishcarssince1946

[classicvirus]

Black tie: 1974 Citroen SM

We often hear “it was not understood” but in reality the problem does not lie in those who do not understand, but in those who do not explain themselves well. The above is, in a nutshell, the story of this model: it is a comfortable sedan, with an unmistakable design, luxurious interiors and a Maserati V6 engine under the bonnet. The SM was frontally characterized by large light clusters, each…