In the SM record car’s first incarnation the 3.0-litre Maserati V6 engine was left normally aspirated but extensively modified. The SM was duly restored to concours condition and transformed into an impeccable land speed record contender, retaining the stock hydro-pneumatic suspension and five-speed manual transmission. Jerry had always harboured the ambition to be a drag racer, and when a damaged SM turned up at the workshop, destined to be cannibalized for parts, the project’s wheels were set in motion. One of Jerry’s Hathaway’s customers was John McKibben, a former Bonneville Salt Flats racer, who suggested that the SM’s aerodynamic shape had the potential to make it a speed record car. It was the start of SM World Ltd, which has since gone on to become the USA’s foremost specialist for Citroën SM spares, repairs, and restoration. He contacted Citroën and clinched a deal to take over the local franchise and and was able to buy his employer’s stock of spares and tools at cost price. By the time production ceased some 12,920 SMs had been built, only 2,037 of which were sold in the USA.įast forward to 1976 and Jerry Hathaway was by then working at another dealership, which was about to drop its Citroën franchise. New rules were scheduled to come into force for 1974, in particular the requirement for ‘impact-resistant’ bumpers, and Citroën was unwilling to make the necessary changes to what was a relatively low-volume model.
At the end of 1973, the last Citroën SMs were sold in the USA. The USA was the third largest market for the Citroën SM, after France and Italy, and the car was most successful in California. The SM enjoyed great success in the USA from the time of its introduction there in April 1972, when it was voted ‘Car of the Year’ by Motor Trend.
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