Citroën – SM (1971)

Anybody whose heart beats a little faster for unconventional automobile concepts will be intrigued by this Citroën SM. And if that’s not enough, you can emulate talented American mechanic Jerry Hathaway. After his first encounter with this highly complex and appealing melange of Gallic style and Italian engineering skill, Hathaway was utterly addicted to the concept of the SM. He was so taken up with the car that he embarked on breaking speed records with one of these coupés. Perhaps one of his motives was to present the hidden talents of the model in a striking way so as to win over doubting onlookers.

No sooner said than done! In a first stage of tuning, he achieved a speed of 243.33 km/h in 1980. After adapting a Garrett turbocharger, he broke through the magic barrier of 200 mph (321.9 km/h). For safety reasons, Jerry Hathaway – long regarded as an SM specialist – mounted a drogue parachute to assist with braking. Additional records followed until his SM changed hands in 2021 for the first time. Today, it is presented ready to race in completely original form after a lovingly executed restoration.