Citroën SM
| Citroën | |
|---|---|
 Citroën SM (1970)
|
|
| SM | |
| Production period: | 1970-1975 |
| Class : | Upper class |
| Body versions : | Combi coupe |
| Engines: |
Petrol engines : 2.7-3.0 liters (113-132 kW) |
| Length: | 4893 mm |
| Width: | 1836 mm |
| Height: | 1324 mm |
| Wheelbase : | 2950 mm |
| Empty weight : | 1460-1520 kg |
The Citroën SM is a July 1970 to May 1975 by the French automaker Citroën built sports coupe of the upper class . The vehicle was presented to the public at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1970 . The exact origin and meaning of the abbreviation SM as a model name is unclear. The only thing that is certain is that, based on the technology , the M stands for Maserati . When the SM was presented, the C-pillars still bore the Citroën-S-Maserati logo instead of the later SM logo. That speaks very well for one of the most plausible interpretations of the abbreviation: (Citroën) Série Maserati. According to Olivier de Serres, however, the S comes from Sport, the additional name for the DS Sport projects pursued in the 1960s. Supporters of the brand, however, joke that SM is the abbreviation for Sa Majesté .
Development and technology
The self-supporting body was designed by Robert Opron , as well as that of the GS and CX models . The Citroën SM is now a style icon.
The vehicle was equipped with a six-cylinder V- engine from Maserati equipped as Maserati belonged at that time to 60 percent Citroën. There were different displacement variants : 2.7 liters with 154, 170 or 178 hp (113, 125 or 131 kW) and 3.0 liters with 180 hp (132 kW). Citroën had been developing its own V6 and V8 engines since the early 1960s, but until the very end they shied away from converting them into a series product. After the then Citroën director Pierre Bercot had paved the way, the final development of the engine for the SM Maserati was transferred in 1968. The chief engineer in charge at Maserati was Giulio Alfieri at the time .
The cylinders of the Maserati engine are at a 90 ° V angle . The engine was specially designed by the designer Alfieri for the engine compartment defined by the relationship to the D model; therefore it is compact and relatively low despite four overhead camshafts. One result of the V-angle, which was unfavorable for balancing the masses, was the rather rough and loud engine running for a six-cylinder, which did not at all match the character of the SM (scene jargon: flying sofa). Since the engine was seated with the output side forward directly in front of the bulkhead , it had a chain-driven intermediate shaft running at half the crankshaft speed, which not only drove the four camshafts via additional chains, but also all the auxiliary drives (water pump, hydraulic pump, alternator, air conditioning compressor). The chain is located in a housing that is difficult to access directly in front of the bulkhead. In order to exchange them, the engine must be removed with corresponding costs and workshop times. When the SM appeared, the Citroën workshop network was not prepared for the maintenance requirements of this complex third-party engine, which led to breakdowns and a bad reputation for the engine and the vehicle.
The five-speed gearbox was longitudinally in front of the front axle and was interlocked with the differential. At times, a Borg-Warner 35 automatic transmission with hydraulic torque converter was also available. The brake disks of the front disk brakes sat directly on the differential output shafts . Because of the internal brakes, a small disturbance force lever arm (0) could be implemented without increasing the offset of the wheel disks too much. The ball joints on the outside of the wishbones of the double wishbone axle at the front sat exactly in the center plane of the wheels. The rear wheels were individually suspended, namely on parallel wings . This layout essentially corresponded to that of the DS and GS; except for the subframe with the inner suspension points of the wishbones and gas spring balls, which were moved to the front next to the gearbox. The SM is equipped with an elaborate version of the hydropneumatics patented by Citroën , which was developed for the DS in the 1950s. Steering and brakes (including rear disc brakes) are also connected to this hydraulic system.
The rack and pinion steering with speed-dependent servo action ( DIRAVI " Di rection assistée à Ra ppel asser vi ", German "assisted steering with dependent reset") has a short ratio (two turns of the steering wheel between the stops) and automatically returns to the central position even when the vehicle is stationary The steering wheel is released. The brake pedal is small and round (“brake mushroom”) and hardly gives in when you pedal.
With a top speed of over 220 km / h, the car was the fastest front-wheel drive series vehicle for a long time . However, given the power, the vehicle was too heavy for high maximum acceleration. Because of the French tax law, Citroën brought the model in a variant with lower fuel consumption of 12.5 l / 100 km. The body has a drag coefficient ( C w ) of 0.33.
Unlike the Citroën DS with its cable control to swivel the inner headlights (from 1967), the SM had a hydraulically operated cornering light which, in addition to the steering angle of the headlights, enabled the entire light unit to move around the horizontal axis (to compensate for immersion effects). Citroën developed the front lights of the SM with six headlights in collaboration with Cibié. The outer (larger) ones are combined high and low beam headlights. Towards the center, wide-spread dipped beam lights follow for the vicinity, and right on the inside - on both sides of the license plate - are the swiveling high beam headlights that not only follow the steering but also move slightly ahead in the angular degrees. This creates ideal curve illumination, which can even capture the end of the curve through this effect.
The German TÜV initially refused approval for this construction because of the alleged increased risk of glare, so that two low beam had to be switched off and the high beam could not be pivoted. However, that was withdrawn in the course of 1970; the headlight system could now be operated as intended. In addition, for aerodynamic and stylistic, but also practical reasons (no soiling), Citroën had also placed the front license plate under the glazing, which thus extends over the entire width of the vehicle. This was also initially forbidden in Germany because, among other things, at speed controls (with radar or photo traps) the license plate could not be photographed properly due to the light reflections on the glass. Today there is an exception for the SM. In view of the approval of vehicles with similar characteristics, it remains to be seen whether the reasons given were valid or only hypothetical.
Technical specifications
The following list contains only the models for the European market and only the model years 1972 and 1975. For other markets other engines were also available that are not listed here.
| SM ( five-speed manual transmission, model year 1972 ) |
SM Injection ( five-speed manual transmission, model year 1972 ) |
SM Automatique ( three-stage automatic, model year 1975 ) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| engine | |||
| Manufacturer | Maserati | ||
| Engine type | 90 ° V6 four-stroke Otto | ||
| cooling | water | ||
| Valve control | four overhead camshafts, drive with timing chains via an intermediate shaft | ||
| Mixture preparation | 3 × Weber twin carburettors type 4 2DCNF2 | Bosch D-Jetronic intake manifold injection | 3 × Weber twin carburettors type 4 2DCNF2 |
| Bore × stroke | 87 mm × 75 mm | 91.6 mm × 75 mm | |
| Displacement | 2675 cm 3 | 2965 cm 3 | |
| Nominal power (DIN) | 125 kW / 170 PS at? min −1 | 131 kW / 178 hp at 5750 min -1 | 132 kW / 180 hp at 5750 min -1 |
| Maximum torque (DIN) | 230.5 Nm at? min −1 | 233 Nm at? min −1 | 245 N · m at 4000 min -1 |
| Performance indicator | 11.6 kg / kW | 11.1 kg / kW | 11.2 kg / kW |
| Dimensions, filling quantities and weights | |||
| Dimensions (L × W × H) | 4893 mm × 1836 mm × 1324 mm | ||
| wheelbase | 2950 mm | ||
| Vehicle mass | 1450 kg | 1460 kg | 1480 kg |
| Maximum payload | 380 kg | 410 kg | 390 kg |
| Maximum trailer load (braked) | 1800 kg | no information | |
| Fuel tank capacity | 90 l | ||
| Trunk | 488 l | ||
| Performance | |||
| Top speed | 220 km / h | 228 km / h | 205 km / h |
| Acceleration 0-100 km / h | 8.9 s | 10.7 s | |
| Acceleration 0–200 km / h | 51.2 s | no information | |
| Fuel consumption | 12.5 l / 100 km | 11.2 l / 100 km | 13.5 l / 100 km |
| source | |||
Commercial failure
It seems obvious that the SM was launched under great time pressure, which is why the Maserati engine was not adequately tested. Much of the technology in the SM had been developed and tested in modified DS vehicles (i.e. with DS engines) since the mid-1960s.
The weak sales resulting from the problems brought the SM to an early end of production after the integration of Citroën into the PSA group - not least because of the oil crisis in 1973. PSA no longer tolerated loss-making as part of the renovation of Citroën. The last 200 SM bodyshells manufactured therefore ended up in the scrap press. The SM transmissions similar to the DS were sold to Lotus .
The registration problems and the associated technical devaluation of the vehicle have certainly contributed to the weak sales of the SM in Germany and to the bad reputation of the Citroën brand at the time. Much more important for the relative failure (not only in Germany), however, were the design features of the SM - above all the Maserati engine, which required frequent maintenance without the owners or the workshops being informed in good time. The result was frequent engine damage, so that the engine and the car got a reputation for unreliability. The situation improved, but the reputation remained. Even after technical solutions were developed that significantly extended the maintenance intervals (different chain tensioners, different outlet valves, different actuation of the oil pump).
In its entirety, regardless of the problems, this model is widely recognized as ingenious. The shape of the SM, designed by Robert Opron , is still highly original and is responsible for a large part of the fascination felt in the relevant fan scene and which can be taken as proof that very good aerodynamic data by no means lead to unification and facelessness have to lead.
From an economic point of view, the car, still futuristic -looking even more than 30 years after its development, was a failure for the manufacturer: The vehicle was too luxurious and cumbersome for the sporty drivers, the car was too sporty for the luxury customers - the handling took some getting used to and the defects did the rest.
In the first year of production, 868 vehicles rolled off the assembly line. In the second year (1971), the highest annual production was achieved with 4988 copies. After that, production figures steadily went downhill (1972: 4036 pieces, 1973: 2619 pieces, 1974: 294 pieces, 1975: 115 pieces). In the production and the company was Ligier involved, did not let appear useful than the low quantity production in the Citroen works.
In mid-1975, production was stopped after only 12,920 vehicles.
Further developments
In 1969 and 1970, Citroën dealt with a sedan based on the Citroën SM. The vehicle was to largely receive the technology of the SM Coupé and its engine. For the design of the body there were some drafts that diverged from the SM coupé. There is still little information available about this project. What is certain is that it was finally given up around 1970. Some sources say that Citroën passed it on to Maserati, where under this influence the Maserati Quattroporte II , presented in 1974, was developed. For the vehicle, the SM technology was largely used, the body had designed Bertone and it was similar to that of the BMW E12 , also designed by Bertone ; Only the fully glazed front section can be regarded as an SM quote. A total of only 13 Quattroporte IIs were made before Alejandro de Tomaso took over the direction of Maserati and ended Citroën's influence on Maserati with the Quattroporte III based on the De Tomaso Deauville .
Special models
Over the years, different bodybuilders produced a number of special models based on the Citroën SM. The most well-known are:
SM My Lord by Henri Chapron
The Parisian carossier Chapron had already produced more than 1,300 factory convertibles based on the Citroën DS between 1960 and 1971 . After Citroën stopped selling these convertibles in 1971, Chapron was looking for a successor model.
In the same year, his company designed and built an open version of the Citroën SM, which was designed as a full convertible, i.e. without a roll bar . The vehicle was given a notchback body with a small trunk lid, which at the rear end authentically took up the design of the original vehicle - especially the raised license plate. The prototype of the Mylord was unveiled at the 1971 Paris Motor Show, while sales began a year later.
The production was complex. Chapron received a standard body shell from Chausson. The technology and the floor pan of the SM-Coupé remained essentially unchanged; the wheelbase was also retained. The B and C pillars were removed, after which Chapron installed extensive reinforcements. The modified body was transported to Citroën, where the engine, chassis and other technical components were installed. Finally, the car was brought back to Chapron's workshop to do the interior and paint it.
In total, only a few Mylord convertibles were produced: the sources vary between seven and eight copies. What is certain is that four vehicles were sold in France , while two more went to Spain and one to the UK .
SM Opéra by Chapron
A year after the Mylord Cabriolet, Chapron began developing sedan versions of the SM. While Citroën's plans were outwardly quite far removed from the production vehicle, Chapron remained true to the design of the original model and developed a sedan that was ultimately just an extended version of the coupé. Starting with a body shell of the SM, Chapron extended the wheelbase considerably. The front doors have been shortened and modified at the belt line. The rear doors were an in-house design by Chapron. They took up the lines of the coupé and also had the characteristic kink in front of the C-pillar. Finally, Chapron removed the large tailgate and replaced it with a notchback construction. The rear, in turn, corresponded to that of the coupé. The vehicle was very heavy and had lost some of the maneuverability of the coupé.
The Citroën SM Opéra was presented to the public at the 1972 Paris Motor Show. In the following two years Chapron produced a total of eight copies. At least two of them are still preserved. One vehicle that is in excellent condition is in the Netherlands and the other is in Germany.
In the tradition of this vehicle, Jean Tastevin saw his Monica 560 sedan, presented in 1972 .
SM Présidentielle of Chapron
For official occasions, Chapron produced two four-door convertibles based on the Citroën SM in 1972. The body below the belt was similar to the Opéra, but the wheelbase was longer than that of the sedan. In contrast to the Cabriolet Mylord, Chapron installed a roll bar at the height of the B-pillar, which should enable the occupants to stand in the car while driving and to hold on if necessary. Apart from that, there were a number of other modifications, including a revised gearbox that enabled comfortable slow driving during parades. The steering column was also moved and a third seat was installed between the front seats in the opposite direction, which could be used by interpreters if necessary.
The SM Présidentielle did not go on sale. Both vehicles remained in the possession of the French state. The President's first public appearance was on May 15, 1972 at a parade on the occasion of the British Queen Elizabeth II's state visit to France. The presidentials were still used regularly by François Mitterrand , and Jacques Chirac sometimes drove in the SM state car.
In the course of 2008, an enthusiast had a third copy of the Présidentielle made, based on a 1971 SM Coupé. Original Chapron tools were used for the production. The manufacturing cost was £ 420,000. The car was sold at the Rétromobile in Paris in January 2010 for a price of £ 135,000.
SM Espace by Heuliez
In 1971, the French bodybuilder Heuliez presented a Targa version of the Citroën SM with the name SM Espace. With otherwise unchanged technology, the roof construction was independent. The roof section between the A and C pillars had been removed; In the middle of the vehicle, both pillars were connected by a wide bridge. There were seven movable lamella-like elements above the driver and front passenger seats, which served as a roof replacement, could be electrically retracted into the middle walkway if necessary and thus enabled (partially) open driving. It was a further development of an idea that Bertone had already implemented in 1969 with a BMW-based coupé called Spicup ( Spi der / Coup é). It is not known whether Heuliez - unlike Bertone - succeeded in sealing the slats against rainwater.
Heuliez made two copies of the Espace. One vehicle remained in the factory, another went on sale.
Frua SM
In the winter of 1971/1972, the Carrozzeria Frua in Turin built a 2 + 2-seater sports coupé with Citroën technology. It is irritating that the same car was initially presented as the Frua-Citroën SM , but later - without any noticeable changes - was temporarily referred to as the Fiat 130 Coupé . Some historians see neither Citroën nor Fiat as the actual addressees of this draft. Since the dimensions of the car corresponded roughly to the Maserati Merak , the shape of which was developed by Giorgetto Giugiaro at the same time , it is assumed that Frua wanted the car to be understood as an alternative proposal for the future Merak addressed to Maserati . But Maserati opted for Giugiaro's design, which was based on the Maserati Bora .
There is evidence that Frua used the floor pan of the Citroën DS and the mechanical components of the Citroën SM for his vehicle . On this basis, he designed a sports car with a suggested wedge shape. The front of the vehicle was pointed; it was similar to that of the Maserati Khamsin , which was presented a little later and designed by Marcello Gandini . The rear end was - as with Giugiaros Merak and the later Lancia Beta Monte Carlo - basically designed as a notchback; free-standing struts connected the side roof line with the rear end.
Frua's design was made in February 1972. The car was presented to the public for the first time as the Frua Citroën SM in March 1972 at the Pietro Frua stand at the 42nd Geneva Motor Show . A year later the car reappeared in the same place, this time announced as a Fiat 130 Coupé. Apart from the Fiat emblem, there were no visible differences to the vehicle from the previous year. It is widely believed that the Frua-SM and the Fiat 130 Coupe are the same car.
The vehicle remained in Frua's possession in the following years and was shown publicly at some (mostly Spanish) events. At the beginning of 1978 it was sold to a Spaniard and registered for the first time; the registration papers state Citroën SM as Marca y Modelo (make and model). The carriage then passed through several hands; it is currently (2009) in Italy and is offered for sale there.
literature
- Ulrich Knaack: Citroën CX and SM - 1970–1991. Schrader, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-613-87246-3 .
- Olivier de Serres: La Citroën SM. Éditions Techniques pour l'Automobile et l'Industrie (ETAI), Boulogne-Billancourt 1998, ISBN 2-7268-8296-X .
- David Sparrow, Adrienne Kessel: Citroën DS (Osprey Classic Marques). Osprey, London 1994, ISBN 1-85532-365-6 . (engl.)
- Hans-Karl Lange: Maserati. The other Italian sports car. Vienna 1993, ISBN 3-552-05102-3 , (with a contribution to the Maserati Quattroporte II and its relationship to the Citroën SM).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Olivier de Serres: La Citroën SM. ETAI, Boulogne-Billancourt 1998.
- ↑ a b c Automobile Catalog - 1972 Citroën SM
- ↑ Olivier de Serres: La Citroën SM. ETAI, Boulogne-Billancourt 1998, pp. 21-22.
- ↑ Automobile Catalog - Citroën SM Injection (1972) ( Memento of the original from January 6, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Automobile Catalog - Citroën SM Automatique (1975) ( Memento of the original from January 6, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.autotraderclassics.com/car-article/The+lost+prototype+Reborn+_+Citroen+SM+V8-84209.xhtml
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Octane Performance and Classic Cars. Issue 4/2010, p. 143.
Web links
- German-language wiki for the Citroën SM
- Citroën-SM-Club Germany eV
- Amicale Citroën Germany
- Citroën SM Maserati, history
- CITROËN SM PASSION
- CITROËN SM REGEMBEAU
- Detailed, richly illustrated documentation on the Frua-Citroën SM
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