1992 Jaguar XJ-S Lister MK3 Le Mans
June 21, 2017Cashmere Beige | Coupé | 5 Speed Manual | 3.0 liter V6 | 79,614 miles | AU$84,995
What happens when a team of tech-mad Frenchmen buy an Italian supercar factory and drink too much over lunch?
They design something so interesting and provocative you can spend a month studying its fundamentals without even turning the key. When the Citroën SM made its debut at the Geneva auto show in 1970, the motoring press was blinded with science.Featuring hydropneumatic suspension, front-wheel drive, self-centering variable-assist steering (more than 50 percent quicker than most contemporary cars), a punchy Maserati V6 engine with trident proudly adorning each valve cover, visually polarising aero-design with one of the roads lowest drag co-efficiencies and disc brakes all available within a compact and impressively light package, the SM made even the most exotic automobile surroundings of Monte Carlo look obsolete.
Presenting an exceptional opportunity to own what is held to be the last great, French, luxury automobile available here is a beautifully restored 1973 Citroën SM.
Sold new by the Tempe Motor Co. in Tempe, Arizona, this rare car is made even more special fitted with the rare 3 litre engine and silky smooth 5 speed manual that accounted for less than 6 percent of total production.
This SM spent most of its life in the 'Desert State' reportedly travelling only 68,000 miles in 31yrs, before coming to Australia in 2004 where it formed a solid basis for a total ground up restoration with Citroën SM Australia.
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The result is outstanding, with an overhaul of the timing chain, carburettors, the entire electrical system, suspension and both the hydraulic and cooling systems; mechanically this SM is in turn key condition.
Cosmetically, both inside and out this classic is unrivalled. The radical exterior matched by the equally bodacious interior is finished in period Cashmere Beige Metallic over the Tobacco Brown leather with a fit and finish par excellence.
The signature Kamm tail is arrow straight and still holds the original Seima French made tail lights, all Citroën and Maserati badging is present and accounted for and inside the original Jaeger dials are crystal clear with the original leather seats still perfectly firm to the touch and the quirky single arm steering wheel surviving the ravages of time with ease.
A stint in the driver's seat shifting the silky smooth 5-speed, learning the dynamics of the revolutionary self-levelling suspension and revving the punchy Maserati V6 lends you to understand why the SM is so well remembered.
Not just a pretty face, the SM also offers ample accommodation for 4, developed with grand touring in mind. Owning an SM is not so much a car as an alternative lifestyle, nearly every aspect of owning and driving one, from gear changes to cornering requires a different approach and a different way of thinking.
There is no car like the Citroën SM. Nothing remotely like it has been built before or since by any manufacturer and this rare 3 litre, professionally restored and turn-key example offers an exciting opportunity to own and drive one of the most provocative yet revolutionary cars ever made.
Cosmetically, both inside and out this classic is unrivalled. The radical exterior matched by the equally bodacious interior is finished in period Cashmere Beige Metallic over the Tobacco Brown leather with a fit and finish par excellence.
The signature Kamm tail is arrow straight and still holds the original Seima French made tail lights, all Citroën and Maserati badging is present and accounted for and inside the original Jaeger dials are crystal clear with the original leather seats still perfectly firm to the touch and the quirky single arm steering wheel surviving the ravages of time with ease.
A stint in the driver's seat shifting the silky smooth 5-speed, learning the dynamics of the revolutionary self-levelling suspension and revving the punchy Maserati V6 lends you to understand why the SM is so well remembered.
Not just a pretty face, the SM also offers ample accommodation for 4, developed with grand touring in mind. Owning an SM is not so much a car as an alternative lifestyle, nearly every aspect of owning and driving one, from gear changes to cornering requires a different approach and a different way of thinking.
There is no car like the Citroën SM. Nothing remotely like it has been built before or since by any manufacturer and this rare 3 litre, professionally restored and turn-key example offers an exciting opportunity to own and drive one of the most provocative yet revolutionary cars ever made.