Stretched, unusually

"Cé hé sin" (michael-m-mouse) 04/15/2018 at 16:27 • Filed to: Citroën SM, Chapron

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The Citroën SM. Normally this was a two door. Citroën had intended a four door as well but money and its short supply intervened. That left a gap in the market filled at considerable expense by Chapron, coachbuilders to the French luxury car trade in the good old days.

Meet the SM Opera. Worth a substantial sum if you find yourself possessed of a good one.

Noah - Now with more boost. > Cé hé sin 04/15/2018 at 16:43

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Love these! My favorite French car by a long shot. You forgot one of the best parts though:

Its V6 isn’t the only Maserati part, the Merak interior is identical from the HVAC unit up. Maserati just glued a badge onto the dash and called it a day, single spoke Citroen steering wheel and all.

AestheticsInMotion > Noah - Now with more boost. 04/15/2018 at 16:50

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Is that a headunit between the seats

Noah - Now with more boost. > AestheticsInMotion 04/15/2018 at 16:55

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Lol yep. The shift slot instead of a boot is also very French.

duurtlang > AestheticsInMotion 04/15/2018 at 16:55

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Yes. Yes it is.

Cé hé sin > AestheticsInMotion 04/15/2018 at 17:04

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Sure is, and not quite as unusual as you might think.

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > Cé hé sin 04/15/2018 at 17:14

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In an alternate universe, I would like to own one of these or a Mercedes 450 SEL 6.9 just for the hydro-pneumatic suspension.

However, I neither have the money nor the expertise to maintain said suspension.

I liked the color in the second last pic! What is it called? 

Cé hé sin > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability 04/15/2018 at 17:28

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My mother used to have a Mk1 Escort in just about that shade and we called it maroon. I think Ford called it burgundy. In the case of the SM it could well be a custom colour.

kanadanmajava1 > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability 04/15/2018 at 18:13

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Early Silver Shadows used licenced version of Citroën’s system in all corners. The height controlled front was removed in 1969. This car isn’t terribly far away from a theoretical hydro-pneumatic 450 SEL 6.9.

AuthiCooper1300 > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability 04/15/2018 at 19:13

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I’d probably call it aubergine.

AuthiCooper1300 > kanadanmajava1 04/15/2018 at 19:23

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Well, the 6.9 did have hydro-pneumatic suspension (Mercedes’ own system, although very similar in concept to Citroën’s). Nothing theoretical about it!

kanadanmajava1 > AuthiCooper1300 04/16/2018 at 05:50

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It seems to a very similar system. I did remember incorrectly that they were still using air suspension like W109s did.

Nauraushaun > Cé hé sin 04/22/2018 at 02:13

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Surely Citroën could’ve done this cheaper than anyone else. If some coach builder can expect to turn a profit on these, how come Citroën didn’t?

Whole thing is weird

Cé hé sin > Nauraushaun 04/22/2018 at 05:06

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Money. Citroen didn’t have enough to tool up for production so they left it to coachbuilders.

Nauraushaun > Cé hé sin 04/22/2018 at 18:17

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But that’s what I’m saying! Coachbuilders can’t be doing it at a loss. If it’s profitable for them it should be for Citroen even more so.

Unless they actually lacked the funds to invest in tooling in the first place. In which case they must have been poor indeed :(

Cé hé sin > Nauraushaun 04/23/2018 at 10:01

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The coachbuilders only did a few and charged big money for them, far more than a factory four door would have been, as they were handmade. Citroen were in a bad state financially at the time (they were bought by Peugeot shortly after) and I guess they just didn’t have or couldn’t justify the funds for production tooling.

Nauraushaun > Cé hé sin 04/23/2018 at 23:04

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Ah that’s the key. Big dollars.