While the DS is the Citroen always credited with premiering all those ingenious automotive innovations that predicted the future, it’s actually the even more radical SM that took things even further.
It boasted most if not all of the DS’ features but added more, especially since it was sold as a more upscale and luxurious car than the four-door.
Most notable of those were the lightweight wheels, which were made out of a composite material and the rake-and-reach-adjustable steering wheel.
The rest of the stuff you probably know: swiveling headlights, hydraulic suspension, lots of (back then novel) plastic and even a primitive form of rain-sensing wipers.
Many of these features have been refined over the years and have made their way into series production and we now take them for granted. The CNET video posted below goes into some detail about this, in the context of the SM.
By Andrei Nedelea