Our son sent me this link.
https://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/cars/citroen-sm-restomod-a-modern-day-concorde-road?
Yes, I would like one.
4 Likes
We had one in UK many years agoā¦ it was RHD and a lovely car to drive. Took us everywhere, swiftly and with styleā¦ 
1 Like
Now thatās what you call a classic car. Itās absolutely beautiful and Iād like one too AM. How lucky were you to have had one Stella - Iām envious!
2 Likes
I showed OH the link to āClassic Driverā and heās recalled a funny happening.
Itās all to do with the hydraulicsā¦ which do make a very comfortable drive.
Backed into a parking space in the local multistorey. The walls had a small crash barrier (lowdown) to protect āem.
So, one backs and backs, slowly slowly, until just that moment when one feels the towbar very softly touching that barrierā¦ OK. Brakes applied and ignition switched off.
and the car settles down on its haunches ā¦ ending with a bit of a shimmy
However, when one switches the ignition back Onā¦
the car rises gently from its haunches ā¦ andā¦ finds itself trapped from fully rising as the āshimmyā had allowed the towbar to slip under the bottom of the barrier and thus trap the car from fully rising, let alone moving away..
Only had that happen the onceā¦ but that was frightening/worrying enoughā¦ I thought the car had gone barmyā¦ got out to have a look and we both collapsed with laughter when we realised what had happened.
In future, OH made a point of parking nose-in, just in caseā¦ 
4 Likes
I never really got comfortable with the style, but lately I seem to like them a lot more. Probably not enough to own one now.
I had a DS19 in the States, but it turned into a real disaster. I bought it to restore off ebay but didnāt see it in person (the car was in MA and I was in FL), but the car was from California. I mistakenly thought it was going to be rust free ( many of the ones from Southern California are), but this one turned out to be from far northern California and was super rusty underneath. The chassis longerons were completely rotten or gone. It needed a lot of welding (which I canāt do) and I didnāt retire soon enough to learn and take on a big project like that. So, I had to just sell it on when I bought my wife a Mercedes (R107) roadster and there was no place to put that. Iām still bummed about itā¦
1 Like
We had a couple of CXs and loved the suspension. It was also really helpful sometimes to be able to increase or reduce ride height.
1 Like
Especially as the old bill couldnāt fit a Denver boot wheel clamp 
3 Likes
Back in UKā¦ OH had many different cars. Some were to work on (pleasure) and some to simply enjoy driving wherever.
One car I could not get on with was the original little Fiat 500ā¦ successful double de-clutching was beyond my skillsā¦ Such as shame as OH had bought it especially for me, done a wonderful job on itā¦ all to no avail. 
1 Like
The 500 was somewhat the antithesis of the SM, but an interesting vehicle. Iāve been a passenger on just a single occasion, being given a lift home from a party, and recall it was a confined and rather firm experience, even by 1970s stanards.
That was another near miss with Citroen that I had in the States. Back around ā95 or so I had an opportunity to buy a very nice ā80 CX diesel, which was an extremely rare car there (grey market). Only catch was that the engine had to be completely rebuilt because it seized when the owner had run it out of oil. I wasnāt quite up to the task at the time, fortunately.
1 Like
Is it though? Iām not sure really, it sounds a bit messed up to me. Based on previous discussions on modified classics one probably couldnāt import it into France 
A friend of mine, a CitroĆ«n enthusiast, has had one for about twenty years. Same colour as the featured one. Heās spent thousands to keep it original. I think the only modification was in beefing up the intermediate shaft which runs between the cylinder banks (as far as I can remember) and drives the hydraulic pump, alternator and air conditioning pump. A known failure point. Though he might have had the sodium filled exhaust valves replaced with solid ones too, another Achillesā heel.
He had that work done soon after he bought the car by, I think one can safely say, the UKās foremost expert on the marque at the time. The sadly departed Andrew Brodie. āBrodie Engineering ā was much more than just a business dedicated to CitroĆ«ns. It became an internationally recognised specialist for the marque and most particularly for Andrewās great passion, the SM.ā.
My pal and I became friends with Andrew, who enjoyed nothing more than a good meal and a good chat, many of which we had in London and the South of France. On one such occasion he offered me a GS Birotor (with a spare engine!) for not a lot of money. A very rare car indeed because CitroĆ«n bought most of them back and crushed themā¦ I should have bought it. By the time I realised I should it was gone
In his book (which I can thoroughly recommend)
there a chapter on a trip around Alsace in the Birotor accompanied by an NSU Ro80 entitled āThe Rotary Club Outingā. 
For those of you who are familiar with the technology.
The book covers eight trips to France between 1988 and 2007 with excellent photos and contributions from other enthusiasts, including Phil Llewellin. Whose book āthe Road to Muckle Fluggaā is somewhere in my āto readā pile.
Andrewās death was sudden and a shock. His memorial service was in a Duxford display hanger, amongst the aircraft. While a sad affair, it was very appropriate, and a nice tribute to a very nice and interesting man.
Two quickies, the article referenced above mentions Adam Clayton owned one, which is true. A less well known fact which was revealed to me at the time (and I canāt reveal my sources) is that he had it resprayed purple 
because that was/is the favourite colour of Naomi Campbell, who he was dating.
Second, Back in 2012 my pal and I attended a DS convertible (Chapron and Usine) event in his one. One of the other participants was the car below. Current estimated value for a real SM Chapron (which this was) is north of ā¬600,000 Not something to park casually.
A tribute to Andrew from the Citroen SM Owners UK.
1 Like
A near miss. I had a CX and loved it, but I wouldnāt want a diesel one. They probably werenāt even even turbo diesels at that time.
J.R. Ewing put me off those forever. I bought one of the last R129s, one of the last real Mercs, in 2001, a V6 320 in silver with black nappa. I kept it as my daily driver for fifteen or sixteen years. Even imported it here (ā¬1,000 for new headlights 
). I just got fed up with the RHD so reexported it. A fine car.
A super little car. I had one for a month when my own car was recovering in a panel beaters from a close encounter with a telegraph pole.
I think a popular upgrade is to stick a 126 engine in the back to replace the original. It has a full synchro box and a bit more power. Obvioulsy keeping the original engine for whn one sells the car.
I think some were, but that particular car wasnāt. Would have been slow but US was probably stuck at 55mph at the time. I was driving a VW 1.6 IDI pickup to work then.
I liked the R129 too, but it had too many complex features for my taste. Even the R107 got to be too scary to work on. And talk about wimpy- the US version 380SL only had 155 hp, I think. I would have loved to have had a euro 280SL. I even had an M110 engine sitting in my garage at one point but no car to put it in.
John, I wrote that as a girly comment not really knowing anything about cars (except how to be chauffeured around in them!) , but looking through all the photos on the link you sent, it does look stunning.
1 Like
Yes, the R129 was complex. I remember one of the hood clamps on the top of the windscreen started to weep oil. When I brought it to the well seasoned Mercedes specialists near me they couldnāt believe that the clamps were hydraulically operated. The R129 was built in the Panzerwagon tradition. Like my R124 was. I drove that to places in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia that I wouldnāt would trust a Range Rover in (well thatās most places really )
The V6 320 was about 210BHP (DIN) which gave around 8 seconds 0-60. Same as my first Golf GTI and really adequate at the time for me.
2 Likes
My comment was a bit tongue in cheek Rachel, I just used your quote to pose a question
Elsewhere there are queries on how to import a modified classic to France from the UK. Which is very tricky. And here we have a French company modifying a French car to a degree that I suspect would mean they couldnāt import it into France Iād just like to know how that works?
They arenāt importing it.. 
Imagine your local French garage takes in your battered/tired French car and goes to work on itā¦ as they can and do.
This French company/(garage) does just thatā¦ amazing craftsmanship and expertise.
I may have posted this before, if so apologiesā¦
This is Bruno Paillard, the CEO of Lanson champagne, with his Citroen DS21 convertible:
He is a mega car collector which is how I got to photograph him - a colleague was writing an article for the UK Ferrari Owners club magazine so we went to Reims to see him - he has a Ferrari Testarossa which (back then 2016) was in the process of restoration.
IIRC he has two of these DĆ©esses, as well as a bunch of other classic cars stashed in various lockups around Reims!
He has his own champagne business supplying fizz to restaurants, and he gave us a tour of the vineyards (as well as a look at the Testarossa and a Facel Vega at the restorers) before ending up at a Michelin starred restaurant where we had the tasting menu with a different Bruno Paillard champagne with each course!
He commissions artists to create original paintings to put on the labels of his bottles - very classy!
3 Likes
But thereās an inconsistency here Stella, which I highlight in the āImporting a modified classicā thread. Iāve only really just thought about it. Importing a modified classic is very difficult if not impossible, but you can do what you like to one thatās already on French plates? Doesnāt make sense to me.
Over the years Iāve seen many modified classics here, and indeed cars that arenāt thirty years old yet, at village car shows. Last weekend we had a show near us and there was a Merc with ridiculously low suspension. It wouldnāt have a hope of getting over a speed bump at the front and the rear wheels were at an incredible angle due to the drive shafts. On the other hand there was a pickup that was jacked up so high youād need a step ladder to get in. Whoās approved these suspension mods? I couldnāt really see anyone investing much time of mo ey in going through a lengthy process. There was also a beach buggy, which has to be about the maximum modification there is. Floorpan chopped and welded and a fibreglass body. How come all of these mods are legal? Or are they?
As I mentioned on the other thread Iām finally selling our pet 306 convertible. Iām letting a classic car garage have her as I donāt want the hassle of a private sale. They have a rather tatty beach buggy on the forecourt and Iāll ask how thatās considered roadworthy. Iāll also ask them about modifications to classics in general.