If 1 and 1 are more than 2
01/13/2021
Jon McKibben, an experienced high-speed driver, saw the Citroën SM as the ideal basis for a car with which to set speed records, as the aerodynamic bodywork convinced him. This motivated Jerry and Sylvia Hathaway, who had built up an extensive parts and restoration business called SM World Ltd. around the SM.
They decided to build a record-breaking car and found the right SM for it.
At the end of the 1970s, they competed for the first time in El Mirage and Bonneville and achieved 151.2 miles per hour, the equivalent of around 243 km/h, with a Maserati engine boosted to 250 hp.
But the Hathaways wanted more and installed two turbochargers to break 200 miles per hour. Due to various obstacles, however, it took until 1985, but then they achieved 206.466 MPH on the fastest run and 202.3 MPH on the record run, the equivalent of around 326 km/h. This Citroën was probably the fastest of its kind in the world.
This would have been a good story, but it got even better. Because in the 1980s, the Hathaways' towing vehicle and trailer were stolen. And instead of simply buying another truck and trailer off the shelf, they built a much more stylish combination, consisting of a Citroën SM pickup and a trailer with an SM axle including hydropneumatics. This not only allowed the trailer to be lowered for easier loading, it also looked really "cool".
The combination and the racing vehicle were eagerly shown around and the record-breaking Citroën even made an appearance at the Rétromobile Paris in 2003.
Now, however, a new owner is being sought for the triple combination. USD 100,000 to 200,000 has been estimated for it, but it could also be significantly more or less, after all, there is no minimum bid required when you can bid at the Gooding & Co Geared Online Auction from January 18, 2021.
