1972 Citroen SM Presidential.

Henri Chapron had established his coachworks company during the 1920s creating custom-car bodies for luxury French marques such as Delage, Delahaye and Talbot in his garage in Levallois Perret, a suburb northwest of Paris. Following the war, like most coach builders his business had significantly slowed by the 1950s.

Chapron contacted Citroën in hopes of working out an agreement to buy unfinished bodies to create convertibles. However, no arrangement could be made, so Chapron was forced to buy completed factory examples to convert.

There were two Citroën SM Presidential versions made from the original Citroën SM bodies for the official duties of the French president. Both cars were lengthened and fully convertible. These cars were used during a visit from Queen Elisabeth in 1972, and they remained in service until 1995.

French Presidents from Georges Pompidou to Jacques Chirac enjoyed touring Paris in the Citroën SM Presidential convertibles, sharing them with such notables as Henri Chapron and visiting heads of state.

These manual transmission cars have special low gearing and additional cooling suitable for parade use, allowing them to travel at a speed of 6–7km/h.

Cars also feature a small, rearward-facing dropdown seat for the use of a translator or secretary, and an electrically powered top with hydraulic actuators.

The SM Presidentials served for 37 years and were retired with around 25000km on their odometers. Original examples of Citroën SM Presidential models are valuable – the last recorded sale was for €548320 in 2014.