SM

Citroen acquired Maserati in 1968 and immediately began developing a grand tourer that would combine French technological innovation with Italian engine-building expertise. The SM was the result.

The Maserati C114 V6, a compact 90-degree unit displacing 2.7 liters, was designed specifically for the SM by Giulio Alfieri. It produced 170 PS and drove the front wheels through a Citroen-designed five-speed gearbox.

The technology was extraordinary even by Citroen's standards. The DIRAVI steering system provided speed-sensitive power assistance and automatically returned to center when released. The hydropneumatic suspension, shared with the DS, provided a ride quality that no conventional suspension could match. Six swiveling inner headlights followed the steering angle.

The SM could cruise at 220 km/h in absolute comfort, on front-wheel drive. No other FWD car would approach this performance for decades.

Citroen's bankruptcy in 1974 killed both the SM and the Maserati partnership. 12,920 were built. The car's complexity made maintenance expensive, and many were scrapped. Clean examples now command EUR 40,000 to EUR 80,000.

The SM remains the most technologically ambitious grand tourer ever produced. Nothing else combined this level of innovation in a single production car.