Ian’s Citroen SM is his pride and joy, and his 45-year ownership with this French beauty would surely have to be some type of record. Ian’s passion for French cars, and in particular Citroens, started in his early teens. His father owned a Peugeot and his brother had just purchased a Citroen Light 15. The Light 15 was fascinating to Ian. While he worked as a mechanic for a Holden dealership, he was convinced of the marked difference between the ‘60s Holden and the handling, performance and engineering of the French cars. After sampling the performance of his brother’s car, Ian also purchased a 1952 Light 15, therefore setting him up for a lifetime of Citroen ownership.


By 1971, Ian was well over his Holden mechanics job and applied for a position with Maxim motors, which was the Citroen dealership in Brisbane. With no positions available, Ian took other mechanic jobs in Brisbane, as well as fruit picking in Shepparton, while he bided his time. After a further application in 1972, he was accepted as a motor mechanic for Maxim and over the next few years became involved with their rally program. In 1974, Maxim was planning to campaign a Citroen DS23 overseas and Ian was able to accompany the team to Paris to participate in the World Cup Rally as their support mechanic. This high-profile rally ran from London to Munich via 2 crossings of the Sahara dessert. This was a 20-day event and Ian followed the rally car in another DS23 support vehicle for over 29,000km through Europe and Northern Africa. The Australian team not only won the event outright, but the team also placed 28 hours ahead of the second-place entrant. Out of the 70 entered vehicles, only 19 finished – a great testament to the Citroen and its rally preparation. Ian has fond memories and many stories from the event and was able to keep a memento: the front left mudguard of the race-winning Citroen, complete with the drivers’ names painted on (Ken Tubman, Andre Welinksi and Jim Reddiex).


Following the event, Ian stayed on in France to work for a Citroen workshop; and later, landed a dream job working with a highly successful Citroen factory driver, Jean-Claude Ogier. It was in France that Ian discovered a passion for the Citroen SM. These cars were only built in left-hand-drive configuration; and, while some were converted by SM Australia for a period, they were rare in Australia. The SM was first designed in 1961 to be a high-performance sports variant of the popular DS model. The design process took a staggering nine years and moved from being a modified DS design to a completely new engineered vehicle. During the design period, in 1968, Citroen purchased Maserati: predominately for their high-performance engine technology. The Maserati V6 engine was then integrated into the new designed chassis to complete the final production SM. The Quad cam V6 engine had a relatively small capacity of 2.7L; however, combined with the aerodynamic shape of the SM, it was quicker at accelerating and had a higher top speed than its competitors. As a comparison with the Mercedes 450 SLC of the time, the SM accelerated to 60 mph (96.56km/h), which was one second quicker. Plus, it had a top speed of 220km/h, almost 20km higher than the Mercedes, despite it having a 4.5L V8.


In 1975, Ian purchased his SM in France, a 1970 model, and for the Australian equivalent of $2400. Subsequently, he took it with him when he travelled through Norway, Switzerland and to Geneva, where he based himself working for another Citroen Garage. The next leg of travel was a trip to US, which, ultimately, lasted 3 years. During this time, friends of his had looked after his SM left behind in Geneva, which they eventually transported to US for him. In 1979, Ian decided to return to Australia. Again, he packed up his SM and had it shipped here. In Australia, he was unable to register it until 2000, when it was eligible for registration as a left-hand-drive vehicle – being 30 years old at the time. 

Currently, there is believed to be approximately 80 SMs in Australia. Some having been converted here, and some, like Ian’s, imported and kept in original left-hand-drive configuration – just as he likes it. Ian’s SM has been exceptionally reliable over the last 45 years and is obviously well maintained by a highly qualified Citroen mechanic: himself. The engine does have 235,000km and is overdue for a rebuild. And to confirm that, literally 30min after the end of the Retromotive photoshoot, and on the way home, the engine seized. 


Ian and his SM have a clear bond. Not only because of the sheer number of years of ownership, but the car having provided him emotive transport to more parts of the world than many people have personally travelled. Ian currently owns around 40 Citroens, all in different states of repair and restoration; however, the future for his rare and special SM is clear. Ian tells me that it will get its well-deserved rebuild and be back on the road, ‘as soon as there is a space in the workshop.’


Citroen is very well-known for its innovative vehicles. From the Light 15 starting production in the mid-1930s, iconic 2CV starting in the late 40s and to the popular ‘DS’ model from the mid-1950s. The DS in particular had a production span of over 20 years and just shy of 1.5 million units built. It was acknowledged as one of the best cars in the world and named the most beautiful car of all time, by a leading classic car magazine. However, this story is about the lesser known, but closely related, ‘SM’ model. With a production run of only 13,000, it was marketed as the high-performance version of the DS and sold alongside the DS from 1970 to 1975.

Citroen SM

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