In the always-on, always-jaded internet age, concept cars are tricky things to get right. Leaks and speculation can remove an element of surprise, while homogenous designs and forms drown under background noise in an era when every story has a shelf life of about 20 minutes. However, every so often, something exciting still happens. DS Automobiles, a premium offshoot of Citroën, has just paid homage to one of the coolest cars ever to come from France with something called the SM Tribute. No prizes for guessing what the first two letters of that name refer to.
The Citroen SM, made from 1970 to 1975, is one of the best cars of all time. It’s captivatingly, studiously beautiful, opulent in an indulgent mid-century modern way, and simply a starship on the technological front. Sure, it might not have enjoyed the greatest reputation for reliability, but think about it — we’re talking about French oleopneumatic suspension and an Italian 90-degree V6 in a pre-internet age of American mechanics. If you weren’t from the continent or didn’t train with Citroën, it was unlike anything you’d ever seen before, what with its incredibly quick DIRAVI steering, up-and-down ride height, and optional fiberglass wheels.
Adding to the mysterious allure of this mesmerizing grand tourer, nobody has firmly come to a consensus on what SM actually means. The “S” could well come from Project S, but the second letter? While the phrase Série Maserati is often bandied about, others, perhaps with more whimsy, take SM to mean ‘Sa Majesté’ — ‘Her Majesty’ in French. Seems fitting, doesn’t it?
It’s a wonder that it’s taken this long for DS — Citroën’s luxury offshoot, so think French Infiniti — to evoke the SM, but I suspect there’s a reason for that. If you’re going to do a tribute to the Citroën SM, you need to obsess over it, sear it into your frontal lobe over months, perhaps even years. Indeed, the groundwork for this concept was laid back in 2020, so let’s take a look and see what we’ve ended up with.
Right out of the gate, the SM Tribute is absolutely, unmistakably related to the SM, but it’s taken a more considered approach to retro rather than just smearing it on with a trowel. The silhouette does a good job of evoking the SM’s front-mid-engined front-wheel-drive proportions thanks to a long dash-to-axle ratio, while the bulk of the bodyside surfacing and the rear window surround are indisputably SM derived.
However, several elements on the original car have been substantially reinterpreted. For instance, the SM had wheel spats, and this tribute goes even more bonkers with punctuated wheel spats that almost evoke motorcycle swing arms. It’s a similar deal up front, where the faired-in nose of the original SM makes way to a massive display panel that’s pure concept car flight of fancy. Oh, and then there’s the fact that this concept is some 5.5 inches wider than an original SM, yet only around 1.2 inches longer, which certainly has an effect on things.
However, not everything is a runaway success. While the bronze parts of the body are very SM, the gloss black bits down the quarter panels are very Renault Fuego. Close, but not quite. I’m also not sure about the projected infotainment system. It’s extremely concept car, but in something like this, you almost expect the graphics to look a bit more, well, future. On the plus side, DS has nailed the rolled leather upholstery, another pinch of ’70s swagger.
Still, even with the controversy, it’s worth noting that the original SM is undeniably gorgeous from some angles and yet a bit frumpy from others. It’s a vehicle that sparks dialogue, and even though this tribute is sure to provoke similar conversations, it seems like more of a mission statement than anything concrete. As DS Automobiles design director Thierry Metroz stated in a press release:
“The DS DESIGN STUDIO PARIS team had fun with an ambitious project. We have respected the original design through its spirit and details. We have done a transcript and reinterpretation of the SM. But as it is not our habit to disconnect from our other work, we have included a lot of details about what DS Automobiles models and our future projects are.”
Please, if you’re listening, just do this. Obviously, the screen on the front and the display in the steering wheel simply can’t make production, but the world yearns for something like this. Everything else in the DS lineup is upscale but rather pedestrian-looking, and while a captivating, inspiring grand tourer won’t set sales charts alight, it’ll reignite a certain degree of passion, and more importantly, get people looking at DS.
(Photo credits: DS Automobiles)
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I want to like this really much and I hope they make something like it,but this is not good enough.
the wheels are too big and ugly,the side profile,especially the greenhouse looks off,and the rear looks like a boat.
Sure, this alludes to the SM’s shape at least as much as the Datsun F10 does, but it may as well have been generated by statistical, not symbolic, AI for all its non-comprehension of the aerodynamic purpose of covered wheel tops or the comfort purposes of tall sidewalls and room for suspension travel. Comparison to an SM at resting height is not helpful.