Chassis No. 00SB5583

OFFERED WITHOUT RESERVE

When launched in 1970 the Citroën SM received the glowing accolades of the worldwide motoring press, but the French simply call it "Sa Majesté" – Her Majesty. British author Denis Jenkinson, writing in MotorSport, December 1972, remarked: "To say that the SM lived up to all my expectations, and more, is to understate the case. It rates at the very top of my list of desirable cars, even above the Dino Ferrari, which I rated as the ultimate in sports cars."

The four-seat grand touring SM is the very definition of Avant-garde. Citroën was noted for its advanced designs, and their famous hydropneumatic self-leveling suspension system, which also powers the steering and four-wheel disc brakes, was taken directly from the DS sedan. Citroën's acquisition of Maserati in 1968 would deliver the power, the lovely 2,670 cc DOHC V6 with three Weber carburetors from the Merak sports car, generating 180 hp. Citroën designer Robert Opron used the wind to shape the SM to an amazing .26 coefficient of drag allowing a 140 mph top speed. Under the glass frontend are six quartz halogen Cibié headlamps, two of which turn with the front wheels.

This SM, chassis 00SB5583, was built in October 1971. An earlier owner, a prominent European collector, purchased the 1,687 km SM from the Citroën experts at Garage Normandie in the Netherlands following maintenance by noted Dutch Citroën specialist Bart Kocken. Kocken provided superb detailing of the engine compartment, as well as careful preservation of the original Noir (black) leather interior. The pristine paint is AC527 Vert Argenté, which was applied to just 18% of 1972 SM production.

Of particular note on 00SB5583 is the powered sunroof installed by Carrosserie Henri Chapron. Chapron, the official coachbuilder of Citroën, was known for converting DS sedans into convertibles and presidential limousines. Henri Chapron kept fastidious documentation which states less than ten SM models received this sunroof. A letter from Chapron's daughter, Noëlle, confirms this.

David Lillywhite, editor of Magneto magazine, drove a Citroën SM in 2018, and remarked, "A good SM is a phenomenal machine that everyone should experience if they get the chance." Just 12,920 were built between 1970 and 1975, so those encounters are uncommon. And experiencing "Sa Majesté" in as close as possible to showroom condition, wind and sun flowing through the Chapron sunroof, is a distinctly unique opportunity.