SM TRIBUTE – Opera, MyLord and Shooting Brake Homage

Launched in the early 1970s, the Citroën SM represented the pinnacle of French automotive innovation. A true concentrate of technology, its aerodynamic design by Robert Opron marked a perfect balance between elegance and avant-gardism.

Opron felt that he had achieved a purity of design with the SM. Much to his dismay, he was given a directive by Citroën management to design a 4-door version. Opron’s design studies never made into production as Citroën’s insurmountable financial constraints resulting from wankel engine development, the CX replacement for the DS and the oil crisis at the time, saw the company succumb to a takeover by Peugeot.

With Peugeot in control SM production was terminated, but not before esteemed coach builder Henri Chapron created eight 4-door versions of the SM that he named Opera.

Robert Opron was not impressed with the Opera, nor with Chapron using a close resemblence of his name. Nevertheless, the SM Opera is considered a prized collector’s item.

When DS Automobiles introduced the SM TRIBUTE last September, as the culmination of a design study of the SM for 10th anniversary of the brand, it was positioned as a reinterpretation of the original SM with the claim that;

^{The SM TRIBUTE represents the elegance and avant-garde that is part of our brand. This link between past and future is essential to imagine the silhouettes and identity of our models of tomorrow.}

At that time we published an article somewhat critical of its design and wondered if Robert Opron would approve of the SM TRIBUTE if he were alive today?

The SM TRIBUTE has received accolades from the media and yesterday won the hearts of the L’argus Trophies Special Jury Prize award with a unanimous vote by all 31 members. The award was presented as;

^{A testament to the exceptional work of the DS Automobiles design teams, who have been able to breathe new life into a legend by projecting it with audacity and elegance into the future.}

With the SM TRIBUTE being praised in this manner, George Dyke took the liberty of Photoshopping a 4-door version as a complement to the coupé.

Voila – the SM TRIBUTE OPERA;

It is arguably a good looking 4-door treatment and a visual improvement to what Henri Chapron’s SM Opera was to the original Citroen SM coupé. Would Robert Opron give a it a thumbs-up?

If DS Automobiles is planing to produce the SM TRIBUTE in a few years as they have hinted, might they take this design suggestion seriously and offer a 4-door Opera homage?

And…

There have been 2 other variation renderings of the SM TRIBUTE posted online.

Here is the “MyLord” treatment in comparison to the original half dozen or so SM MyLord convertibles produced by Henri-Chapron. (Also a variation that Robert Opron was very critical of.)

Henri Chapron never produced a shooting brake version of SM, but that hasn’t stopped a couple of SM enthusiasts from building their dream;

And Citroën built the “SM Breadvan” for Michelin to test high-speed performance tires.

Now, of course, shooting brake renderings like this are beginning to appear for the SM TRIBUTE;

Rather attractive, isn’t it? Let’s wait and see what, if anything of the SM TRIBUTE, comes to fruition!