How do you pronounce Citroën? See-troe-on? Sih-tron? Cee-trin? Best I can tell, since it seems no two people pronounce it the same way, Citroën is pronounced something like, see-tro-en—and this 1972 see-tro-en SM is up for sale on Facebook Marketplace less than an hour south of the Triple Wide, just west of Cleveland, Ohio. If you're interested, bring a trailer with a powerful winch.
While today’s Citroën's are generally less eccentric than their predecessors, they're part of the monolithic Stellantis Auto Group now, there was a time—particularly from the years just prior to World War II through the 1970s—when Citroën marched to the beat of its own cylinders.
I thought they were just plain weird and, without question, they were. For the most part, though, they were weird in the most wonderful ways.
Citroën was founded by André-Gustave Citroën in 1919 and quickly established a reputation for doing things differently.
The 1934 Traction Avant was a watershed. Its name literally means “front-wheel drive,” and the car combined front-wheel drive, a unitary/monocoque body structure, four-wheel independent suspension and hydraulic brakes at a time when many competitors were still building cars around separate frames and rear-wheel-drive layouts.
Then came the 2CV in 1948, a remarkably simple and inexpensive car designed to provide basic transportation to rural France. Nothing says “France” quite like an old Citroën, in particular a 2CV.
And then, in 1955, Citroën dropped the technological equivalent of a flying saucer on the Paris Motor Show floor. The DS.
The DS introduced Citroën’s famous hydro-pneumatic suspension, which used hydraulic pressure and gas-filled spheres to provide an extraordinarily smooth ride while automatically maintaining ride height. Hydraulic pressure was also used for other systems, including the brakes and steering.
Citroën began developing what eventually became the SM in the 1960s as a high-performance derivative of the DS. As the project evolved, however, Citroën decided it needed a more powerful engine for it than anything it had available.
Rather than go through the expense of developing its own engine, Citroën acquired Maserati in 1968 and used the Italian company’s expertise to develop the 2.7-liter, 90-degree, quad-cam V-6 that powered the SM. The engine produced about 170 horsepower with its original triple-carburetor setup; in 1972, Bosch D-Jetronic electronic fuel injection was introduced, increasing output to approximately 176 horsepower.
Up front, European-market SMs have six headlights tucked behind a broad transparent cover. The inner pair swivel with the steering, allowing the lights to illuminate the road around corners. The car’s hydropneumatic suspension also automatically maintained ride height, and the headlights were hydraulically self-leveling so their aim remained consistent as the car’s load changed.
The SM’s love-it or what-the-hell-is-that styling, designed under Citroën stylist Robert Opron, is what makes it really stand out. Despite the deterioration visible on our Marketplace gem here, the basic shape still looks reasonably contemporary more than half a century later.
The list goes on and on with unique, different and debatably overly complicated, “Rube Goldberg-esque” engineering that makes it terrifying to think how much money one would have to spend to get this particular car roadworthy. Not to mention the interior and exterior work that needs to be done.
The poster of the ad is asking $2,500, but they're adamant they “need it gone,” so they're open to offers. It might be hard to believe, but it's not running, although it was apparently running when parked in this field. Not surprisingly, in addition to all the other issues this car has, the floor pans are rotted out.
I’d love to know why anyone would buy this and go through the labor and expense of even getting it roadworthy. Especially since, unlike back in the 1970s, importing a 1972 SM from Europe today doesn't involve federalizing it to meet current U.S. safety standards. Doing that wouldn't be cheap, but it would probably be a lot less than fixing this thing up—and less of a headache, too.
Poster of the ad claims if you know what this car is, you know how valuable it is. Well, can't blame them for saying that, problem is, what something is really worth is only as much as someone is willing to pay for it.
The SM was withdrawn from the American market after 1973 because Citroën could no longer get an exemption from evolving U.S. safety requirements, particularly the five-mile-per-hour safety-bumper mandates. Citroën pulled out of the U.S. market after 1974.
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