Citroën SM is often referred to as Citroën-Maserati. I don't know, but the "M" in SM must stand for Maserati. As is well known, Citroën took over Maserati in 1968 until they themselves were taken over by PSA in 1974. Maserati developed the engine in the SM – a V6 of 2,7 litres. It was later further developed for later Maserati models, including the Quattroporte.
On the top shelf
It is rare that you come across an SM, - wherever you are in the world. It is a very special car. The engine from Italian Maserati, the technology and the fantastic design.
The other day I came across a great Citroën SM with Norwegian plates at the old SAS hotel in Fornebu. It's amazing how great the design of the 3-door combi coupé has remained to this day! It oozes French premium class. Incidentally, the interior of the SM is a chapter of its own – fantastic design. I have read that 90 percent of all cars were delivered with leather interiors. The SM belonged among the rich in Paris and the jet set environment along the Mediterranean's Côte d'Azur, - among other fine cars such as Maserati, Ferrari and Bentley.
Color of time
I think the pictured Citroën SM in "rouge de grenade" fits well in the park outside the old SAS hotel in Fornebu. Today, the hotel stands a little on its own – a little off the beaten track. In 1970, when Citroën introduced the SM, the hotel was located between the disused route of Snarøyveien and Lysakerfjorden, with the huzzle-and-buzzle of the airport directly behind and a view of the arrivals and departures from the east. An elegant hotel from the time when flights were reserved for the business world and people high up in the State Regulations. - In the seventies, the SAS hotel could have been a place where a cigar-smoking director from the continent could have stopped by with his beautiful SM, sweet wife and Louis Vuitton suitcases.
Facts
Engine:
6 cylinders, 90 degrees, DOHC, fed from three twin Weber carburettors - or from September 1972 - Bosch injection. Aluminum cylinder heads and block.
Displacement 2670 ccm.
Power: 170bhp DIN (180hp SAE) at 6250 rpm
Performances:
Max speed:
220 km/h (carburettors), 228 km/h (injection), 205 km/h (automatic)
0-100: 8,9 sec.
Consumption: 1,1 liters per mile.
Weights and Measures:
Length: 489,3 cm
Width: 183,6 cm
Height: 132,4 cm (in normal driving position)
Net weight: 1460 kg (carburettors), 1520 kg (injection).
Source:
Citroën SM Club Norway
citroensm.no
More pictures
About the pictures
The gold-coloured (Or de semiane) car is photographed along the street at Tåsen in Oslo. The gray (Gris nacré) is pictured at Cars & Coffee at Øvrevoll gallop. The light green one is pictured in front of a residential area just off the market in Notting Hill, London. The other green (vert des tropiques) is depicted on Ramstadsletta west of Oslo. The French, sand-coloured car by the carts is photographed at a car meet in Perpignan, 2024.
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