Opronistas in L.A. Rejoice as at Least One Citroen SM Takes to the Boulevards of the Gritty East Side
Yep, it's a Citroen SM, from somewhere in the 1970-75 run of designer Robert Opron's long, low-slung, aerodynamically radical masterpiece (how does a drag coefficient of 0.336 strike you?) Evidently, there's a Maserati V6 under the hood, so think twice before you snicker, twitchy little leadfooted Boxster bitch. We caught this rarity, along with its official California historic vehicle plate, up in the undulant hills of the Mt. Washington-Eagle Rock-Highland Park environs, the Eastside L.A. mega-hood that's rapidly turning into Brooklyn West (please don't tell New York magazine, and don't worry, Los Angeles mag already knows and doesn't give a shit). The driver seemed a tad German to us, which we thought was strange, but hey, a pretty car is a pretty car, regardless of two world wars. Note the smooth yet still aggressive—even seductive—arrowlike transition of the window trim into the fastback. Très Opron, who's pretty much the Jean Prouvé of car design. Or maybe the Serge Gainsbourg. Okay, what we're saying is he's a specialized taste. Gotta tell ya, the SM should have seemed out of place in such a sordid landscape, but like a true French beauty, she made it look as if she had been there her whole life. Check out those skirts on the back wheels!
We think we're in love.
A Note for the Design File: Opron was at least a few decades ahead of his time. The man invented enclosed headlamps and put them on all his cars. He also devised headlamps that could swivel to aim the beam around corners. So yes, the current arms race in headlamp design can justifiably be blamed on a man who buffet-line retirees in Provence should probably watch themselves around.
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