acc0110_citroen
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There’s a lexical faux pas associated with Citroën owners and their cars. It’s a word starting with ‘q’ that you don’t dare utter…
Words Bn Dlln
Photos Naan Duff
1971 CitroëN SM
Pardonmy FreNCh
Australian Classic Car78
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ay “quirky” to a Citroën
owner and most of the
time they will walk away.
In the world of this
revolutionary marque,
the Q-word is right up
there with the four-lettervarieties in terms of
offensiveness. Drop it
enough times and expect
a punch in the face, hard.
This particular Q-word may
seem apt, as it encapsulates all
the unique peculiarity that oozes
from Citroën designs, but ‘quirky
Citroën’ has now become the
ultimate cliché.
Queensland-based Citroën lovers
Peter Huth, his wife Pam Ezzy and
life-long friend Les Hay are three
‘Citroënistes’ who don’t really
mind which word you use – theyare just happy to share their
passion for all things Citroën.
Such is their enduring af fection
for the brand they have amassed
some 30 Citroëns over the years
with their Gayndah-based
collection now recognised for its
quality by visitors from around
Australia and around the world.
One of the centrepieces is this
gorgeous 1971 Citroën SM – the
grand tourer favoured by everyone
from African despot Idi Amin to
ganja-toking comedians Cheech
Marin and Tommy Chong. Somerelatively normal people have also
owned an SM.
Peter seems normal enough on
the phone but I am still scared that
we’ll turn up and be inundated
with mime, foie gras and be asked
what we think of the modern art
movement. I have my answer
ready: “Progressive.”
Thankfully Peter, Pam and Les
are typically Australian and
perfectly normal, albeit desperately
in love with Citroën.
Looking around the sheds that
house the collection, there isn’t ablack beret to be seen. In fact, the
only concession to European
culture is Les having a glass of
wine with lunch.
leading a Frenchway oF liFePeter’s first car, bought just before
his 17th birthday, was a Citroën
ID19. He credits it with giving
him a direction he would take
throughout his life. “I found the car
and a way of life at the age of 17,”
Peter says. He has continued, with
Pam and Les, to live the marque.
Peter and Les believe Citroën
has literally saved their lives. Les
recounts an episode 30-odd years
ago, when he was squeezed out
onto a grass median at 70mph
while overtaking a truck. Peter
learnt his lesson about safeovertaking that day, but both Les
and Peter also took away from that
experience an appreciation of the
remarkable handling characteristics
at the core of Citroën design. They
agree that had they been in a car
with conventional suspension, both
men would have been French toast.
dash to stashAs the collection was missing an
SM, Peter wanted to find his own
car – and he wanted a story behind
it, so he and Les embarked upon a
voyage of Citroën discovery thatled them all over France and
Switzerland too.
Peter vividly remembers trying
to find a decent SM. “The chase
was good. We looked all round
France, 10-12 cars in France, but
walked away from them all,” he
says. “You’ve just driven 600-
700km to a showroom, but then
see the car and think, ‘Don’t even
want to talk about this car,’ and
that happened several times.”
Such disappointments finally led
the pair to Switzerland, where they
found three cars in excellentoriginal condition – part of a
Citroën dealer’s personal stash.
Peter and Les remember the day
the SM was pulled out from a shed
in a little Swiss village. All the
disappointment of driving so far
and only seeing unsuitable vehicles
melted away – they knew their
search was over.
The Swiss banker who originally
purchased the Gayndah SM
specified almost every option
available, including the (at the
time) very expensive cassette
player. Peter was keen to find theoriginal owner, but when he went
to the bank where the previous
owner had been manager, he drew
a blank. Some staff remembered
the manager and the SM, but
didn’t know what had happened
to the manager.
Peter enjoys finding out as much
as he can about the cars, as steel
and glass make the physical entity,
but history makes the car’s soul.
the consummate gtThe SM is a legend in the history
of Citroën. In its day it was a
S
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sharper pencilsWhile most designers were takin
cues from hard-edged American
styling, Citroën designers in the
1950s and ’60s were looking to
snails, teardrops and Edith Piaf
for inspiration.
Designed by Robert Opron –the man who penned subsequen
GS and CX models – the SM was
a break from this ‘soft’ design
philosophy with far more angula
complex lines over the base
‘teardrop’ shape.
Launched during a period of
transition between the flowing
lines of the free-love ’60s and the
angular lines of the angst-driven
’70s, the SM found a crowd, mai
in the US, who enjoyed the edgy
modernist take. This was despit
the ugly round headlights that
American law required in place the swivelling European system
Despite being a more challeng
design and far more interesting t
look at, the SM never enjoyed as
much success as the Citroën DS
which was an exhibit at the New
York Gallery of Modern Art.
riding highWe walk toward the sandy-gold
coloured car, which sits against
a background of a similar hue.
The sun is bright, the warm win
strong, and my eyes are watering
Peter offers me the keys and I sli
Form and Function
Unconventional stylingcontinues inside withL-shaped seats (right) andovoid steering wheel (below).
consummate grand tourer that
could devour continental roads for
breakfast. The 2.7-litre V6 engine
borrowed from Maserati (owned by
Citroën at the time) gave the SM
some street-cred in the performance
stakes with 170hp coming from the
engine in carburettor form. Whilenot sounding like a big number,
it was enough to punt the SM to
100km/h in around 8.5 seconds
and on to 225km/h.
In any normal relationship the
blend of Italian soul and French
composure would result in divorce,
but in the SM the effect was magic.
The engine sits right back in the
long nose, well behind the axle-
line, with the transmission in f ront
along with the hydraulic system,
which provides power to the brakes,
steering and suspension.
The hydraulic suspension can beset at five different heights, three
of which are used when driving.
The lowest and highest settings
are only used when stationary or
when changing a tyre (with no
jack necessary).
Interestingly, the suspension
works in symphony with the
brakes and steering. This single
hydraulic system means that the
heavier the load in the car, the
more pressure available under
braking – and that the car remains
level and at the same height no
matter the load.
1971 CitroëN Sm
EnginE: 2670cc Maseratiall-alloy V6 DOHC, twovalves per cylinder
BorE & strokE: 87mm x 75mm
ComprEssion:9.0:1
transmission: Five-speed Citroën
powEr: 170hp (127kW) @5500 rpm
torquE: 172lb/ft(233Nm) @ 4000rpm
suspEnsion: Front:Twin-transverse arms,push-rod operated hydro-pneumatic dampers. Rear:trailing arms, push-rodoperated hydro-pneumatic
dampers.stEEring: Rack and pinion
wEight: 1460-1520kg
produCtion: 12,920(1970-75)
SPeCST h e
1971 CitroëN SM
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into the driver’s seat. A slightly
worried-looking Les jumps in the
passenger’s side.
Swinging the long door open,
the first thing you notice is the
front seats are interestingly formed,
like a body-contoured ‘L’ shape.
These ergonomic pews, coveredin black leather, are not only
very comfortable but also (like
everything in this car) beautiful
and functional.
Citroën only ever built the SM
in left-hand drive – with a couple
converted to right-hand drive in
England – and so it is with the
Gayndah car that I find myself
holding the steering wheel in the
passenger’s seat.
Looking at the oval Jaeger
instruments in the contoured dash,
my attention falls to the single-
spoke steering wheel – which isalso ovoid with only two turns lock
to lock – and the gorgeous open-
gated shift. Other details include
chevrons on the clutch pedal and
the idiosyncratic ‘mushroom’ brake
ball, which instantly transmits the
braking force from the driver’s foot.
The shift feels superbly connected
and positive with a gentle ‘clack’
from the metal gate on each shift.
On start-up the V6 is growly but
not intrusive, with a linear power
delivery that gently builds and
pushes the car along.
The sensation of speed is
Peter’s words about Citroën’s
hydraulic suspension come back to
me at this point: “It just is the
best, honestly, it’s the best.”
I have to disagree. Everything
about the SM is the best. It is the
ultimate expression of form and
function in total synchronicity.
The thrill /fear of wondering
if you’ll actually get to your
destination without breaking
down, which characterises much
classic car ownership, is notcharacteristic of the SM. Lack of
use is much more often the cause
of mechanical failure. As Les says,
“I love it, but I’m scared of it.”
Peter adds: “Every time it starts
without drama we are happy.”
These sentiments sum up SM
ownership perfectly – it’s a car too
good to be enjoyed sparingly, yet
too fragile for everyday use.
i don’t know artbut…Almost 40 years on, the SM looks
like a refugee from a future thatnever transpired, angular and
beautiful but still relevant. What it
comes down to is that all Citroëns
have personality, even just standing
still. The contours of the most
conventional Citroën (an oxymoron
I know) are, dare I say, art. In fact,
owning a Citroën is exactly like
owning a piece of modern art.
People either get it or just say,
“Ah, Citroën. Quirky.”
“The 2.7-litre V6 engineborrowed from Maseratigave the SM street-cred”
c’est chic The SM’scombination of softcontours and angularlines struck a chord withforward-thinking buyersin the ’70s.
slightly anaesthetised by the
incredibly supple suspension and
you soon find yourself carrying
more speed than you thought,
which leads your foot to the
infamous mushroom brake pedal.
This pedal is not the bear-trap
that urban legend has spawned,but the driver still needs to have
feel and modulation.
croissant withthe lotAfter the short trip back to base I
switch the engine off and just sit,
savouring the sensation of the
hydraulics lowering the car and
feel the steering wheel slip through
my hands as it self-centres.
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