To celebrate the tenth year since first attending the Chantilly Arts and Elegance event, DS Automobiles has revealed the SM Tribute, a one-off concept car that recalls the legendary Citroen SM. It has been unveiled at the 2024 event, and although a production version is not on the cards, it might point towards some future design features on future models.
Along with the DS, the SM is seen as one of the luxury French manufacturer’s key influences, and the Paris-based DS Design Studio regularly looks back to them in order to inspire its future creations. ‘We are working on the genes of our iconic models to fuel our research into the shape of future models that will come along at the end of the decade,’ explains Thierry Metroz, DS Automobiles Design Director.
For the concept, the DS design team has worked as if SM had continued to develop over the past five decades. Born at the beginning of the 1970s, the SM was the pinnacle of French automotive engineering, featuring an incredible amount of advanced features – hydropneumatic suspension, powered hydraulic steering, swivelling headlights, and of course a Maserati V6 engine. Wrapped up in a futuristic aerodynamic body designed by Robert Opron, it was simply like nothing the world had ever seen before.
Frédéric Soubirou, DS Automobiles Head of Exterior Design, says: ‘We were inspired by studying several SM models, including prototypes and the two presidential SMs. They had a striking trait, like a signature. They gave the impression of flying on the road, they were very aerial.’
Much like the original – which featured a large frontal glass section housing the headlights and number plate – there is no large upper grille at the front. Instead of a home for the registration plate however, the front of the new SM Tribute features a 3D screen that lights up to its middle, framed by a light signature made up of three modules on each side as a nod to the original.
The profile certainly looks very close to that of the original SM too, following the airflow from the front to the narrower rear. Behind two large windows, the rear quarter panel is cut in half and goes on to make the rear part float in an S shape. Naturally, the rear wheels are partially faired with removable sections.
‘It’s not just a portrayal of the SM,’ concludes Thierry Metroz. ‘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.’
