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Citroen was known for their hydropneumatic suspension, but not so much for their engines. Well, that all changed in 1968 when they purchased Maserati. They wanted a high performance engine for their smooth riding DS and the Maser-designed V6 fit the bill nicely. With front wheel drive, quirky styling, and an Italian engine, the SM might not be for everyone. They are complicated and expensive to restore, but if you have more passion than sense, this 1973 SM can be had for $2k and that price includes a parts car! Find it here on craigslist in Connecticut.
I spotted this thing a few weeks ago and threw it up on my blog – definitely an intriguing project! http://sonsoftaki.com/?p=268
JL, just spent the better part of an hour checking out your site. Terrific!
Hey, thanks Paul! It’s a new blog just for airing out my general observations on this crazy lifestyle we call a hobby. Hope you visit again soon!
Doesn’t Steven King live in Connecticut, or nearby.
Wrap your neck with garlic, polish your silver crucifix, and RUN!
yikes,right there is financial suicide dressed up as a Citroen. SM indeed.
Then again, restoration of this item could be a clever exercise in money laundering……..
If you part it out, I’m sure the glass alone will pay for your investment.
There’s a restored 72 SM on Hemmings for $19,999.
Thanks for the tip Rick. Here is the link: http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/carsforsale/citroen/sm/1532614.html
The price isn’t too bad for a restored SM. Too bad it’s yellow though…
Are not all lemons yellow???
Aside from the limitation of the auto trans, these can be great drivers if looked after by a sympathetic hand. But this has that undesirable trans, and isn’t running, so……same thought as cardog: $2K for this AND a parts car = tidy profit if you are willing to do the work. Plus, these are genuinely loved by some, so it helps them keep their cars on the road.
This has LeMons series written all over it!
No I don’t need another road art form in my yard, thanks.& no I wouldn’t know where to start, the liquid suspension alone is enough to keep me far away, even if they ride like silk.
RUIN,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,don’t walk to the next car for sale. I can’t imagine anyone wanting this Dinosaur for anything other than to take to a SCRAP yard. FUGLY as Hell.
~ ‘but if you have more passion than sense’
famous last words.
The Citroën SM was in the 70ies, the most sophisticated car ever built. Citroën made a big mistake when they choose the V6 Maserati engine which was actually a V8 amputaded of two cylinders. That engine was not reliable and the manufacturing was very poor. Lots of customers had big troubles with timing chains and cylinder heads.
Imagine that a triple articulations wrench was needed to remove the spark plugs.
A french mechanics named Regimbeau, decided to improve the SM that fascinated him by its performance and technology. He built a 2500cc turbo charged diesel engine connected to a six speed gear box of his own design and manufacturing. The first car he built is still in operation with more than 600000Km on the odometer. He also offered a complete rebuid of the Maserati V6′ stripping the engine completely, correcting the faults in casting of the block and cylinderheads, replacing rods and pistons, modifiying the timing chain system for finaly have a reliable engine for a car that deserved it.
I was lucky enough to travel several hundreds Km in a SM in 1974 and believe me it is one of my best traveling memory. 220Km an hour on an italian motorway flying on the hydropneumatic suspension, The power of the brakes and the road holding of a SM is unforgettable.
Isn’t this the type Burt Reynolds fled the cops in the 70’s movie “The longest yard”?
Decades ago a dealership I worked with turned up a Maserati V6 Citroen and we thought it was something special. Well that was then and now I know it’s more of a curiosity piece than something I would want to own.
Matter of fact I really don’t want to own anything Citroen much less one powered by a Maserati engine!
I remember being shown one of these in the late 70s by a customer when I was delivering furniture as a teenager. It seemed exotic and interesting because of that Maserati engine. I asked to to hear it run, but was told it wasn’t running at that moment! Ha! It was fairly new then, so I can’t imagine what a nightmare this would be now. Even as a parts car…. Does anyone even try to rescue these things?
I’d rather slam my fingers in the door. The pain will pass quicker than if I was daft enough to
buy it.
Wow! People still believe this is a Maserati V8 with two cylinders amputated? Mr. Lecointe? It makes it impossible to believe you know what you are talking about with the rest of your statements. The only thing the V6 motor has in common with the Maserati V8 is they both have 90 degrees between cylinder banks. The V6 has its cam chains running down the middle of the motor and to a center drive which has chains to run the cams. The V8 does not have the center drive and the timing chains are in the front of the motor. Also if you look at each motor the V6 is MUCH smaller than the V8 would be minus two cylinders. What parts do you have in common? That would be zero.
Yes, the very first motors used a single row chain and were weak and had problems also had a poor chain tensioner, but after the first year that was solved, so it is unfair to paint the motor as a bad motor.
Tripe actuator wrench to remove spark plugs? How many motors do you need to lift one side or go through the wheel well to get at the back spark plugs?
…but I guess if you have the money you can get someone to completely redisgn an engine and get it to do whatever you want. Somehow I believe Alferi is a bit better known than Regimbeau
What a lot of drivel some people can come up with!! Citroens are amazing cars that tend to last and last with little or no maintenance of their admittedly unsophisticated engines. As for the hydropneumatics, all systems are pretty straight forward and can be repaired with patience and common sense, admittedly with the loss of a lot of skin and blood, and with the use of some choice expletives, as you struggle to get to the parts needing repairs! The biggest problems on any Citroen, would rather be rust. The bodies are complicated and over engineered, and all were poorly rust protected from the start. I don’t think that anyone who has driven any Citroen can NOT be impressed by the sheer genius of the cars, so much so that the unconventional seems absolutely normal!…..not to mention the ride quality and handling which was so way advanced that it would leave any equivalent American car of the day gasping in its dust on the twisty bits!!!