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The Citroën SM is a high-performance coupé produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1970 to 1975. The SM placed third in the 1971 European Car of the Year contest, trailing its stablemate Citroën GS, and won the 1972 Motor Trend Car of the Year award in the U.S. in 1972. ==History== In 1961, Citroën began work on 'Project S' — a sports variant of the revolutionary Citroën DS. As was customary for the firm, many running concept vehicles were developed, increasingly complex and upmarket from the DS.〔http://www.citroenet.org.uk/passenger-cars/michelin/ds/d-sport.html〕 Citroën purchased Maserati in 1968 with the intention of harnessing Maserati's high-performance engine technology to produce a true Gran Turismo car, combining the sophisticated Citroën suspension with a Maserati V6.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Citroën SM - Hemmings Motor News )〕 The result was the Citroën SM, first shown at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1970. It went on sale in France in September of that year. Factory produced cars were all left-hand-drive, although RHD conversions were done in the UK and Australia. The origin of the model name 'SM' is not completely clear. The 'S' may derive from the Project 'S' designation, the aim of which was to produce what is essentially a sports variant of the Citroën DS, and the 'M' perhaps refers to Maserati, hence SM is often assumed to stand for "Systeme Maserati" or "Sports Maserati". Another common alternative is ''Série Maserati'',〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.maserati-alfieri.co.uk/maser14.htm )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.autoweek.com/article/20100928/COLLECTOR/100929868 )〕 but others have suggested it is short for 'Sa Majesté' (Her Majesty in French), which aligns with the common DS model's nickname 'La déesse' (The Goddess). The SM was Citroën's flagship vehicle, competing with other high-performance GTs of the time from manufacturers such as Jaguar, Lotus, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Alfa Romeo and Porsche. France had not had a production vehicle in this segment after World War II, except for the export oriented Chrysler V8 engine Facel Vega in the late 1950s.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Facel Vega Home Page )〕 The thriving French luxury car industry was decimated by post-World War II ''puissance fiscale'' regulation, which has hamstrung French manufacturers for decades. The SM did not find a sufficient customer base in the European GT market, but much of the SM's technology was carried forward to the successful Citroën CX, launched in 1974 the DIRAVI steering being the most obvious example. The same basic engine in enlarged 3.0 L form (some in Italy had 2.0 L) was used in Maserati's own Merak (1,800 units) and later with some modification in the Biturbo (40,000 units).〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Retrospective: Maserati Biturbo )〕 The Merak, Khamsin, and Bora, used Citroën's high-pressure hydraulics for some functions, and the Citroën gearbox in the Merak, during the Citroën-Maserati alliance. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Citroën SM」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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