Citroen SM 3.0 Automatic

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In 1961, Citroen began work on 'Project S' — a sports variant of the revolutionary Citroen DS. As was customary, many running concept vehicles were developed, increasingly complex in nature and moving further upmarket from the DS.

Citroen purchased Maserati in 1968 with the intention of harnessing their high-performance engine technology to produce a true Gran Turismo car, combining the sophisticated Citroen suspension with a Maserati V6. The result was the Citroen SM, first shown at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1970. It went on sale in France in September of that year.

Styled in-house by Citroën's chief designer Robert Opron, the futuristic SM with its glassed-in nose and sweeping flanks took over where the DS left off. Unusually aerodynamic for its era with a drag coefficient of just 0.26, it looked like a teardrop from above and had a shaped undertray which sucked it to the road the faster it went. High quality materials were used throughout, including aircraft-grade aluminium for the bonnet and stainless steel external brightwork

It bristled with technical innovations such as graduated power steering that weighted up as speed increased, self-levelling headlights and suspension, rain-sensing wipers and hydraulic brakes that could stop it on a sixpence. Only available in left-hand drive, the interior was as striking as the exterior with extravagantly padded, multi-way adjustable seats, an oval steering wheel and a highly stylised gear shift.

The SM was Citroen's flagship vehicle, competing with other high-performance GTs of the time from Jaguar, Lotus, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Alfa Romeo and Porsche. The fastest front-wheel drive car in the world, it was powered by Maserati's 170bhp 2.7-litre V6 and could cruise all day at three figure speeds with uncanny smoothness, with a top speed of 145mph and a 0-60mph time of 8.9 seconds. In 1973 a larger 3.0 engine was offered which raised power to 180bhp. At first it was only available with a 5-speed manual gearbox but from 1972 a Borg Warner 3-speed auto was available as an option.

With its cool, intellectual styling and technical cleverness, the SM is often caricatured as a car for architects and industrial designers but its appeal goes wider than that – Emperor Haile Selassie was very fond of his and Idi Amin had seven of them! Just 12,920 were made between 1970 and 1975 and survivors are now increasingly sought after.

Dating from 1973, this particular SM 3.0 Automatic was sold new to the American market and spent its first 27 years in the dry states of California and Arizona, hence the good state of preservation today. Imported to Norway in 2000 where it was acquired by the vendor, he brought it back to England with him in 2014.

Finished in Charcoal Grey with a retrimmed black leather interior, we are told that the car is in very good order throughout with smart paintwork and no signs of corrosion. It comes with an extensive history file with receipts for work done both in America and Norway, including an overhaul of the engine and gearbox and a recent new set of tyres, the only known fault being that the air conditioning compressor has been removed at some point.

Said to drive very well with a strong engine and smooth-changing gearbox, it has an MOT until February 2017 with no advisories recorded. With top examples of this design icon making in excess of £50,000 at auction, it looks mighty tempting at the sensible guide price suggested.