1975 Citroen SM Maserati EFI

Begun in 1961, 'Project S' emerged from Citroën's requirement to develop a sports variant of the revolutionary DS. As was customary for the quirky French firm, many running concept vehicles were developed with increasingly complex and upmarket features to differentiate the 'sports' project from the popular DS. The acquisition of Maserati by Citroën in 1968 was motivated by the possibility of harnessing Maserati's high-performance engine technology to produce a true Grand Tourer, combining the sophisticated Citroën suspension with the power of a Maserati V6.The result was the Citroën SM, which was first shown to rapturous appreciation at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1970. It went on sale in France in September of that year in left-hand drive only, although right-hand drive conversions were later offered in the UK and Australia. The SM was Citroën's flagship vehicle, competing with other high-performance GTs of the time from manufacturers such as Jaguar, Lotus, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Alfa Romeo and Porsche. It was also Citroën's way of demonstrating just how much power and performance could be accommodated in a front-wheel drive design. As an example of Citroën's optimism and progressive technology, the SM was untouchable, and similarities drawn by pundits of the day to the design and futurism of aircraft such as Concorde cemented the love affair still borne by car aficionados today.The SM EFI was a two door, four seat coupé powered by a 2670cc, Maserati, four-cam, fuel-injected, 90-degree V6 producing 180bhp at 6,250rpm. all fed through the front wheels. It was capable of 0-60 in around 8 seconds and had a top speed in fifth gear of 140mph. Suspension was 'Hydropneumatic' and the steering was 'variable-assist' hydraulic. Everything about the car was complex.

This rare UK delivered SM was first registered on 20/08/75 to Peter Borender of Chipping Sodbury and he was the car's custodian until May 2000. He appears to have been particularly fastidious about keeping records, as there are a considerable number of invoices in the history file relating to his expenditure during his 25 years of ownership. All the initial work was carried out by Citroen in Slough including full services on 13/6/78 (18,000 miles) and 14/1/82 (36,000 miles) and there are a dozen invoices totalling just over £2,000 from Citroen up until November '83. From that point the car was looked after by G.J.Clark Motors of Reading and there are a further 20 invoices up until late 1996 adding up to £8,500, but that does include a new Stainless Steel Exhaust for £2,500 in July of '92. There simply isn't space to list details of all this attention but it would appear that this Citroen was kept in tip-top condition and in perfect mechanical health during this period. We assume that the car was put into storage around 1997 as the MOT granted on 10/12/1996 indicates a mileage of 60,318 and the following one was issued on 3/05/200 with a mileage of 60,928. On the 8th of May, 2000 our Citroen came into the possession of its second owner, a Mr. Murphy from Kendal and he in turn sold the car to our vendor in October last year. During Mr. Murphy's tenure it appears the car was in possession of an MOT most of the time with a couple of periods of SORN. The most recent MOT whilst the car was owned by him was on 29/07/15 with a mileage of 67,026. There are only two invoices for this period (in the file) from Dave Ashworth Citroen in Blackpool amounting to £4,000.Our vendor purchased this SM with the intention of keeping it for family use and decided to go through the car completely until it was exactly the way he wanted it. Immediately after his purchase in December the SM spent some time with 'Export 56' who fitted a new windscreen and at the same time "Stripped the paint from the roof, bonnet, N/S wing and door, etch primed, repaired and prepared the surfaces, and painted those panels blending it in to the existing paint." Other minor areas of body work were addressed at the same time. The car was finished to the appropriate standard and registered in his wife's name and returned to the road on 11/12/2015. Shortly afterwards on 29/12, five new tyres and a new battery were fitted. In February of this year the car was left with marque specialist Andrew Brodie in North London whose brief was to examine every aspect of the car and assess what it would take to return it to as near 'perfection' as was achievable. Since then Andrew Brodie Engineering have been working through a long list of jobs over £11,000 spent, the details of which are in the file.In late March the entire interior was replaced with a Black Leather one which interestingly had come from the car once belonging to Mike Hailwood. Apparently John Surtees had given him the new SM after he had won the 1972, F2 Championship and Mike had decided to replace the leather interior with, presumably, cloth. Perhaps Mr. Hailwood had seen enough of Black Leather to last him a lifetime.A change of plans, however, now mean that this amazing car is being offered for sale. In addition to a large number of MOT Certificates, (including the latest on 14/04/2016 at 67,417 miles), the V5C, and the large invoice pile, the car's box file contains a1972 UK Market SM Press Release, an original 1972 Sales Brochure, a 'Thoroughbred and Classic Cars' 1974 Road Test, a repair manual and some photographs of the recent bodywork restoration.These were very advanced, innovative motor cars when they were first introduced and are now difficult to find and sought after. They are inevitably complex and require specialists to carry out maintenance, so finding one that has been gone through 'stem to stern' is a rare opportunity.