What is this? Brandes has the answer below.
Story by Brandes Elitch
A series of unfortunate events transpired to seal the fate of Citroën’s SM.
Reflections on the SM Part 2
Citroën Andre
Remembering the Citroën SM on its 50th
This year at Retromobile, Hugues Vanhoolandt photographed a rare example of the SM on display. Heuliez, a coachbuilder, produced two examples of the SM “Espace,” which is a pillarless targa top convertible. The rear quarter windows do retract into the bodywork, unlike the SM.
By Brandes Elitch
All photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt unless otherwise marked.
“That the car was a moonshot didn’t concern our judges. Rather it invigorated them. Viewed in the perspective of the last 21 years, the SM fits more precisely in the spirit of the COTY, maybe better, than anything else being made in the world today.”
And How! More Citroën for the Mullin
And How! features open and innovative formats for notices, articles and posts
By staff, photos courtesy Mullin Museum
The Mullin Museum Expands Citroën Exhibit With New Vehicles Including 200mph SM
“Citroën: The Man, The Marque, The Mystique” expands with the addition of a 1931 C4G, a 1975 CX2200 Berline and a 1971 SM Bonneville Racecar towed by a custom SM pickup on a trailer equipped with Citroen hydropneumatics.
The Mullin Automotive Museum has expanded its internationally-acclaimed Citroën exhibit with the addition of three vehicles from the French automaker: a 1931 C4G, a 1975 CX2200 Berline, and a 1971 SM Bonneville Racecar. The cars represent the newest component of the museum’s “Citroën: The Man, The Marque, The Mystique” exhibit, which celebrates the quirky yet wildly innovative manufacturer. VeloceToday’s Brandes Elitch paid a visit and a compliment to the exhibition a few weeks ago in VeloceToday:
[Read more…] about And How! More Citroën for the Mullin
Mullin Automotive Museum Celebrates Citroën
Story by Brandes Elitch
Photos courtesy the Mullin Automotive Museum
About six months ago I got a call from an old friend who is part of a members-only group at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. Knowing that I have a Citroën DS and an SM, he announced that his group had a special invitation to attend the opening of a new exhibit at the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, devoted entirely to the history of Citroën. It didn’t take me long to decide to make the trip, although it is a full day’s drive for me from Sonoma County, 2 hours north of San Francisco. He enticed me further by saying we would drive up there from L.A. in his 1962 Maserati 3500 coupe, which is a pretty brave undertaking considering the traffic there. [Read more…] about Mullin Automotive Museum Celebrates Citroën
The First Modern Mass-Produced Automobile
Photo by Jonathan Sharp
The Remarkable Story and Saga of André Citroën and his
Breakthrough Traction-Avant
By Philippe H. Defechereux © 2017
Traction-Avant-Guarde!
Following our introductory piece about André Citroën and the first two years of his remarkable Traction-Avant (1934-1935), now is the perfect time to examine and wonder at the car’s thoroughly revolutionary character. In this article, we’ll list all the existing or innovative technologies Citroën and his team brilliantly and harmoniously brought together in order to create what can only be called “the first modern mass-produced automobile.” [Read more…] about The First Modern Mass-Produced Automobile
The Saga of the Revolutionary Citroën T/A
Traction Forward!
By Philippe H. Defechereux
The year 1934 was to be André Citroën’s finest yet, the highest summit in a vast range of accomplishments already marked by several impressive peaks in his two preceding decades. And the year 1934 did start well for great French industrialist. After turning 56 on February 5, in mid-April he witnessed his life’s two grandest industrial creations come to life together, for they were entwined from conception: His new and thoroughly revolutionary Traction-Avant sedan began to come out fully formed and by the hundreds daily. This from his just-completed car production plant in Paris by the Seine, then by far the biggest, most modern and integrated mass-production automobile facility in Europe. [Read more…] about The Saga of the Revolutionary Citroën T/A