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



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

Australian Classic Car80



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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