Introductory text
Presented for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show in 1970, SM combined technical solutions that were offered separately on other vehicles, such as the hydropneumatic suspension of the DS, as well as innovations that were specific to the vehicle. The servo-controlled steering system ensured total assistance to stop, making the SM a very pleasant vehicle to drive in town.
Its aerodynamic line was designed by Robert Opron and, for maximum discretion, a DS body was mounted on the SM during testing! The convertible was equipped with redesigned bodywork by Henri Chapron, the presidential SM was produced in only two versions.
The SMs success was limited by the oil shock of 1973 (one quarter of the sales were in the United States), nonetheless the SM was appreciated by Georges Pompidou.