At the beginning of the 1970s, the French high-end was symbolized by the new Citroën SM, an atypical coupe flanked by a V6 produced by Maserati, then owned by the chevron brand.
The coachbuilder Chapron, based in Levallois, unveiled the SM Mylord convertible at the Paris Motor Show in 1971. Sublime and luxuriously finished, only seven copies will be produced. Then followed the SM Opéra, a sedan with an extended wheelbase of which only eight units were delivered, half of which to General Franco in Spain. What will become the Presidential SM is ultimately a cross between the Mylord and Opera SMs.
The hull of the vehicle is widened from the front doors to the stern of the convertible. The windshield is raised and the two front doors are shortened. Engineers limit excess weight to just 300 kg, for a total weight of less than two tonnes.
They are still owned by the French state.