SM TRIBUTE: 10 Years of Art and Elegance

A history between DS Automobiles and its community

In the spring of 2020, DS Automobiles shared a series of sketches called #SM2020 on its social networks. These drawings are the result of an internal creative competition between the designers of the DS DESIGN STUDIO PARIS around a reinterpretation of the majestic SM presented in 1970.

"Our community sent us several strong messages on the occasion of this sharing [...] The first was that she was very attached to the emblematic models of our heritage. The second was that she wanted the original design not to be distorted."

"Our community sent us several strong messages on the occasion of this sharing.

[...] The first was that she was very attached to the emblematic models of our heritage. The second was that she wanted the original design not to be distorted."

Regularly, the DS DESIGN STUDIO PARIS teams work on the legacy of the historic DS and SM, through sketches that unleash their creativity and nourish their reflections.

"We wanted to go further. [...] We want to cultivate our heritage through our icons, the DS and the SM. We draw our commitment to avant-garde design from it."

"We wanted to go further.

[...] We want to cultivate our heritage through our icons, the DS and the SM. We draw our commitment to avant-garde design from it."

More than just a tribute, SM TRIBUTE celebrates ten years of art and elegance since the creation of DS Automobiles and its participation in the first edition of Chantilly Arts & Élegance, while contributing to the forward-looking research of the DS DESIGN STUDIO PARIS.

"We are working on the genes of our iconic models to fuel our research into the silhouettes of future models that will arrive at the end of the decade. [...] Our shares, which date back to 2020, and our presence in Chantilly with SM TRIBUTE bear witness to this activity and our research on the subject."

"We are working on the genes of our iconic models to fuel our research into the silhouettes of future models that will arrive at the end of the decade. [...]

Our shares, which date back to 2020, and our presence in Chantilly with SM TRIBUTE bear witness to this activity and our research on the subject."

A tribute to the SM and a very current style study

The message conveyed by the DS Automobiles community has been heard. The teams at DS DESIGN STUDIO PARIS have worked as if SM has continued to evolve over the past five decades.

The SM, born in the early 1970s, embodied the pinnacle of French automotive innovation. This grand tourer was a real concentrate of technology. Its aerodynamic line, designed by Robert Opron, was both elegant and avant-garde. Under the hood, a powerful V6 offered exceptional road performance. But what really made the SM an exceptional car was its hydropneumatic suspension, inherited from the DS, which gave it unrivalled driving comfort and exemplary road holding. The SM remains a cult model today, sought after by collectors around the world. Its unique blend of comfort, performance and innovation makes it a true automotive legend.

If the SM has made an impression, it is also thanks to its luxurious and neat interior. The noble materials, the precise assemblies and the studied ergonomics created a particularly refined atmosphere on board. The dashboard, with its circular instruments and its specific steering wheel, was both functional and aesthetic. The SM was also equipped with a very complete equipment for the time, including electric seats, air conditioning and servo recoil steering. In addition to its dynamic character, the SM was a car capable of offering first-class comfort to its occupants.

This lightness, suggesting dynamism and efficiency, is reflected in the slender yet muscular silhouette of SM TRIBUTE. The direct filiation is strongly marked with an emblematic front end and a profile dominated by a long bonnet...

The extended biton look is notably worked on around a reinterpretation of the Feuille Dorée shade that was in the catalogue in 1971, sporting a satin varnish and combined with a specific coloured black.

"We have added some very current markers of our work"

Frédéric Soubirou

"We wanted to build bridges between different eras: the 1930s, when the prestigious French brands presented two-tone bodies in concours d'elegance, the automotive icon of the 1970s that is the SM and our current creations with finishes such as the extended biton, seen in the DS AERO SPORT LOUNGE concept. This treatment has indeed become a hallmark of the design of DS Automobiles creations."

Vincent Lobry, Head of Colours, Materials and Finishes (CMF) design at DS Automobiles

The SM did not have an apparent upper grille, which was replaced by a very large canopy that revealed the headlamp modules and the license plate. Fifty years later, this glass roof becomes a 3D screen that lights up to its center, framed by a light signature composed of three modules on each side – as in the past – enhanced by eight diamond points and vertical DRLs declined in a triad that meet at a point like a ship's bow.

The profile retains the characteristic lines of the SM to accompany the airflow from front to rear, which is thinner. Behind two large windows, the quarter panel cut in half continues to float the rear part in an S shape. Of course, the rear wheels are partially faired with removable parts.

While the iconic proportions of the SM are respected with a length of 4.94 m. (+ 5 cm) and a height of 1.34 m. (+ 2 cm), SM TRIBUTE gains above all in musculature and presence with a width of 1.98 m. (+ 14 cm). In search of efficiency, the ground clearance has been increased to 12 centimetres (- 3.5 cm). SM TRIBUTE sits on large 22-inch wheels embellished with aerodynamic inserts.

The interior also takes up the codes of the 1970 SM

Inside, the 1970 design is also reinterpreted with the characteristic shape of the top of the dashboard and the oval design of the instrumentation. True to the avant-garde spirit of the SM, the information display is done by projection and the curved "screen console" associated with the steer-by-wire steering wheel complete this spirit dear to the brand. Sound and lights envelop the occupants.

The interior is very light with an ivory hue composed of leather and Alcantara®. A large display case on the front of the dashboard offers an extraordinary setting to accommodate an almost infinite range of finishes and materials! The armchairs take up the iconic construction of the SM, with its horizontal cushions.

"The design of the top of the dashboard was a strong signature with an assumed transversality. [...] We have kept this identity-based approach by integrating the results of our research. The display is by projection, without a screen. The environment is more immersive while being less restrictive for the driver and occupants."

Luc Quirin, Interior Designer of DS Automobiles

"The laser-engraved leather work on the door panels reveals motifs inspired by the decorative arts. This trend was born in the same years as the concours d'elegance. The pearl-point decorations refer to the current models."

Vincent Lobry, CMF Design Manager at DS Automobiles

"It's not just an evocation of the SM. [...] The DS DESIGN STUDIO PARIS team had fun with an ambitious project. We have respected the original design by its spirit and details. We have made a transcription and a reinterpretation of the SM. But as it is not in our habit to part with our other work, we have integrated a lot of details about what DS Automobiles models are and what our future projects are."

Thierry Metroz, Style Director of DS Automobiles

SM TRIBUTE at Chantilly Arts & Élégance

A partner of Chantilly Arts & Elegance since its first edition in 2014, DS Automobiles presents SM TRIBUTE on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the competition held in the French gardens of the Château de Chantilly.

Installed in a 120 m² setting alongside a vintage SM, SM TRIBUTE will participate in the Concours d'Elegance on September 15. DS Automobiles is already on the list of winners of the most popular competition in France thanks to DS E-TENSE in 2016.

In the previous edition, DS E-TENSE PERFORMANCE won the Innovation Prize and several models from DS Automobiles' heritage have also won State Competitions over the years, including the SM MYLORD (two trophies) and DS 19 LA CROISETTE (one trophy).

For this edition, SM TRIBUTE will be accompanied by a wide range of SMs presented in the collectors' village. Visitors will be able to discover or rediscover a four-door SM OPERA, an SM MYLORD convertible, a competition SM entered in the 1974 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, an SM PROTO already seen in the 2023 edition of Rétromobile and other SMs in different colours from the Euro SM Club.

Learn more about the DS heritage

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SM TRIBUTE: 10 Years of Art and Elegance

A style study was presented at Chantilly Arts & Élegance 2024