1972 Citroën SM - A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing

Comments · 105

• ST

  @stephenberry1205 · 4 years ago (edited)

  Magnificent car ruined by the horrid 4 sealed beam lights to meet US rules.<br>Everywhere else in the world it got 6 headlights under glass that self levelled under acceleration and braking, with the inner spotlights turning with the steering.<br><br>Quite a number of SMs were imported to Australia from the US by Peter McLeod when they were cheap.<br>He converted many to Right Hand Drive and most got the 4 headlights glassed in, which improved the look a lot.<br><br>A number of new SMs came to Australia and around a dozen were converted to RHD - very complex because of the DIRAVI power self centring steering and dashboard moulding.<br>Drove one for my 21st birthday in 1974... Fabulous. And later I did a long run down the Southern Highlands and up the South Coast in a stunning deep iridescent blue converted the RHD by a very talented car club member Bruce Scott-Smith.. Maybe the best SM in Australia.<br><br>Purple is not an enhancement of the SM. They had 2 tail pipes not 4... <br>Glad you were so impressed. This actual car would not be good for a collector in this colour with 4 exhausts....<br><br>PS. There is no suspension in the top and bottom settings. Just for changing tyres, looking cool at rest, or slowly fording a flooded road or deep snow.<br>Same as the DS. <br><br>Position 1 - about 3 inches - used when changing tyres or for depressurizing suspension for servicing. <br>There are 3 drive positions - Normal - about 6 inches clearance in Position 2 - top speed 142 mph.<br>Position 3 - about 7.5 inches - rough road fast - okay for dirt to about 100 mph. <br>Position 4 - about 9 inches - okay for rougher roads to about 50 mph - suspension firmer<br>Position 5 - about 11 inches clearance... flood or deep snow - to about 10 mph.<br>plus top &amp; bottom settings used for changing tyres with a small stand and no jack.<br>I have never seen a SM drive on 3 wheels like DS, GS, CX, BX &amp; Xantia.<br><br>GS &amp; CX had only 2 driving heights.

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• SI

  @simonturl7961 · 4 years ago

  Johan Cruyff had one - now that is cool!

  7

• JA

  @jaberh.1367 · 1 year ago

  The Official Car Of Heaven.

  3

• -D

  @-DC- · 4 years ago

  That US headlight arrangement is horrible, Wonderful car&apos;s to drive if you ever get the chance like nothing else I&apos;ve ever experienced .

  19

• DI

  @DimitarStanev · 4 years ago (edited)

  Looking at the driving footage there seems to be something wrong with the suspension. It shouldn&apos;t be that bouncy <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pCZOJsAc54&amp;t=900">15:00</a>. And in some cases it looks like it&apos;s being driven on low! <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pCZOJsAc54&amp;t=792">13:12</a> Next time you do a review of a car, make sure it&apos;s in good condition, don&apos;t tell us how comfortable it is while you&apos;re bouncing inside. A car like that deserves a better review, by someone who knows something about it.

  41

• SM

  @SMlFFY85 · 4 years ago

  I think it&apos;s one of the coolest and best looking cars ever made, although US regulations kind of ruined the look of the front, like we see here. I&apos;d love a euro spec on in black, I&apos;d feel like the coolest man in the world.

  9

• TO

  @toddbonin6926 · 1 year ago

  IMHO, this is THE ultimate car! ❤

  1

• CH

  @chrisperyagh · 3 years ago

  That is one bumpy ride! Get that suspension sorted out and you won&apos;t lose your confidence in cornering and hitting any bumps as it should glide over the majority of road surface imperfections without you even noticing them. The entire hydraulic system is crying out for help with that warning light flashing as you&apos;re demonstrating the DIRAVI&apos;s party trick in keeping the front wheels returning to pointing straight ahead when you let go of the steering wheel. <br><br>My XM 3.0 V6 Si&apos;s ride was like that until I had the spheres replaced with the correct ones which made a massive difference as someone before I got it put either GS or BX spheres in. Although the XM V6Si was not a patch on my CX23 GTi Turbo 2 which was by far the best and most fun big Citroen I ever had.

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• BG

  @bgmcc907 · 2 years ago

  I turned 15 in 1975, and we had a Citroen dealer in my community. I thought these were the coolest things ever, multiplied by the fact they were known as Citroen Maserati’s.

• SD

  @sdry1688 · 4 years ago

  Has to be in the top 20 best ever european car designs of the post war period...maybe top 10?

  2

• ST

  @stephenberry1205 · 2 months ago

  One of the reasons the SM died was that the US introduced 5 mph bumpers, plus they had to be a set height. In addition the early SMs had timing chain issues.

• JA

  @Jack-hy1zq · 4 years ago

  Those American headlights destroy the SM&apos;s beauty.

  3