Home » Nor For The Faint Of Heart: 1973 Citroën SM vs 1976 Lancia Scorpion

Nor For The Faint Of Heart: 1973 Citroën SM vs 1976 Lancia Scorpion

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Happy Friday, Autopians! We made it! To celebrate, we’re looking at a pair of European legends in need of a lot of help. First, however, let’s finish up with yesterday’s odd couple:

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A solid win for the little Dodge truck! The rust on the Capri scared off a lot of you, it sounds like, and the allure of a small basic truck is hard to overcome anyway. I think it would be my choice, too.

Today, we’re going to be checking out an insanely complicated French-Italian personal luxury coupe, and a mid-engine Italian sports car with a racing pedigree a mile long. Unfortunately, since this is Shitbox Showdown, neither one is exactly ready for prime-time. Hell, one isn’t even all there. But we won’t let that stop us. Damn the fouled spark plugs; full speed ahead.

1973 Citroën SM – $14,900

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Engine/drivetrain: 3.0 liter dual overhead cam V6, five speed manual, FWD

Location: Houston, TX

Odometer reading: 105,000 miles

Runs/drives? Runs, unclear whether or not it’s driveable

I have been in love with this car since I was five years old and had a Corgi model of it. The Citroën SM is a car nerd’s dream: Italian power, Citroën’s legendary hydropneumatic suspension, and styling unlike anything else ever. It’s insanely complicated, breathtakingly beautiful (but doesn’t photograph particularly well; see one in person and you’ll get it), and yet approachable. It’s the thinking-person’s exotic car, not as brash or obvious as a Lamborghini or Ferrari, nor as uptight and serious as a Porsche.

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Citroën bought Maserati in 1968, pretty much just for the engines. Maserati’s four-cam V6 sits behind the front axle in the SM, powering the front wheels through a five-speed transaxle in front of it. A short jackshaft coming off the back of the engine (which is towards the front of the car) powers the accessories, including the hydraulic pump for the suspension, power steering, and brakes. The SM’s power steering is self-centering; let go of the wheel and it returns automatically to the straight-ahead position.

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This SM’s engine runs, but it has been sitting a long time and it’s not clear whether that insanely complex hydraulic system is functional. Without it, the car isn’t going anywhere. The seller says that new pressure spheres and hydraulic fluid are included, which to me indicates that the suspension at least needs work. Outside, this SM looks all right, just dirty, but the inside is a little rough. The seats need reupholstering and there are wires poking out of the bottom of the dash. That fabulous gimbaled gearshift lever is intact, though, and it’s one of those shifters I’ve always wanted to try driving, alongside a gated Ferrari manual, and Citroën’s “umbrella handle” shifter in the 2CV.

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The seller says this car is complete except for one hubcap, and includes a rebuild kit for one carb in addition to the hydraulic parts. It sounds like it just needs some attention paid to it, but a Citroën is not some Mustang or something; you have to speak its weird language, and I don’t mean just French. This being an SM makes things even more complicated, with the Italian engine. But I think it would be well worth making the effort to fix up.

1976 Lancia Scorpion – $2,000

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Engine/drivetrain: 1.8 liter dual overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, RWD

Location: Temecula, CA

Odometer reading: 98,000 miles

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Runs/drives? Um, no

This is another car I’ve loved for a long time. Lancia’s mid-engined Scorpion, known as the Montecarlo everywhere else because nowhere else had trademark issues with Chevrolet, became one of my favorites after it starred as Herbie’s girlfriend in the 1977 film Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo. It comes from a long and proud line of Lancia sports and racing cars, and formed the (admittedly rough) basis for one of my favorite Group B race cars: the celebrated Lancia 037.

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This Scorpion was purchased by the seller six years ago, running and driving, before they went and ruined it. A plan to widen its fenders and install a V6 engine (persumably a Lancia or Fiat engine) snowballed out of control and was then abandoned. Bits and pieces of the car have been sold off, and what’s left is what you see here for sale. A crying shame, if you ask me; an intact stock Scorpion would have been a lot more interesting. But you’re unlikely to find one cheaper.

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And it’s not like this car has a slouch of an engine to begin with. Lancia is owned by Fiat, who supplied the Scorpion and Montecarlo with their legendary Lampredi-designed twin cam four. It’s a well-supported engine capable of serious power with a little work, and luckily, it’s still here and intact. The Lancia’s suspension and brakes seem to have suffered the worst from this half-finished butchery, and we’re not sure if all the stock parts are included. We know no wheels or tires come with it, nor does, annoyingly, a windshield.

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The bodywork is remarkably rust-free for an Italian car from the Seventies, and as long as the missing bits are included, I think this car could be put back to stock and brought back to life. It might take some time to track down some things you need, but the price is right, and as long as you have a place to work on it, this could be the cheapest way into a mid-engine Italian car, unless you find a screaming deal on a Fiat X1/9.

Obviously, you need to be the right kind of crazy to even consider either of these. But succesfully completing either one would make you a legend, and put an amazing car back on the road. They’re very different; one is a comfortable but fussy grand tourer, and the other is a sharp-edged mid-engine sports car, but my dream multimillionaire garage would likely contain one of each. Which one are you daydreaming about on this fine Friday?

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(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)

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Óscar Morales Vivó
Óscar Morales Vivó
1 year ago

You know I went for the Lancia because at least you know how many times you’re going to be reassembling it from scratch. The Citroën may come put together but you’ll have to take it apart and back many, many times before your confident driving it around.

OrigamiSensei
OrigamiSensei
1 year ago

That Scorpion looks so sexy and it’s only a 30 min drive from me – fortunately I’m not looking for a project car. Of course $2000 is just the starting point, regardless, but there’s a lot of ways one could go with the shell. Half of me is tempted to see if my son would want it for a father-son EV conversion project but we’re both too busy to go down that road right now.
The SM is completely nerd-cool but that price, oof. I’m pretty sure by the time one puts the money into a proper restoration a better example could be had for a smaller total investment.

TheHairyNug
TheHairyNug
1 year ago
Reply to  OrigamiSensei

Yea, the SM is the bigger money pit here. Judging from the interior and engine bay shots, it won’t be long before you’re dumping cash into it. The Lancia gives you basically $13k in project money if you want to directly compare them

Mocamino
Mocamino
1 year ago

I voted for the Lancia because I have yet to see a Citroën that I thought was attractive. (And because I just like the Scorpion.) But WOW there is a lot of work to be done there. Seems like it would be cheaper / less masochistic to just buy one that is in better shape. Granted, this one is from five years ago, an eternity in the grand scheme of things, but it went for under $7k.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1967-lancia-scorpion/

Jakob K's Garage
Jakob K's Garage
1 year ago

Looks like some new parts on the SM, so I wouldn’t mind trying.. The hydraulics aren’t bad if you know your way around brake pipes. Easiest and cheapest “shock absorbers” I’ve ever changed, on my 1967 DS!

The Lancia looks like it benn given up upon. Not a good sign. So no thanks.

Erik W
Erik W
1 year ago

I guess I’ll take the Lancia because I would rather lose 2k than 15k.

ADDvanced
ADDvanced
1 year ago

Lancia, K-swap would be pretty easy and a great performer. SM is amazing but not for that price needing that much work.

TheHairyNug
TheHairyNug
1 year ago

Why in Glob’s name did they part out that Lancia windshield?? It simply doesn’t compute

Allen Lloyd
Allen Lloyd
1 year ago

That Scorpion feels tempting. I am doing a K20 swap into a Fiero. Moving it over to this would be infinitely cooler.

TheHairyNug
TheHairyNug
1 year ago

Unfortunately, prices on the more interesting French cars of the past have gotten out of control. The Lancia is ~kind of~ priced reasonably, while that SM is out of control. No one should be paying $15k for a quirky project car

Lokki
Lokki
1 year ago
Reply to  TheHairyNug

Why not just say Non? For ways that are strange and machines that are odd, the French engineer is peculiar. Unless you have access to a mechanic who understands Citroen – a sort of French-Car-Whisperer ( French Tickler?) there are going to be a thousand little puzzles and delays as you discover that there is yet another obscure Citroen specific part you’re going to have to order from France. The fact that “the engine just needs a carb” really translates as “it doesn’t run right and I don’t really know what’s wrong”. Your interest in the project and tolerance for frustration are going to run out long before this car is drivable

The Lancia is more tempting as the complexity level is way lower, and the hot engine swap for these is an easily available and fits without hassle Alfa Busso V6. They’re also really handsome cars. Further, their weak point was NOT mechanical nor electrical. It was rust – not an issue with this car- but rust bad enough that Lancia left the UK market because of rust problems these cars.

The catch is that because 90% of these cars rusted into the ground more than 25 years ago parts are crazy scarce. Enough so that the owner of this project sold a bunch of them off the listed car. Think you’re gonna be able to buy em back?

Canopysaurus
Canopysaurus
1 year ago

Citroen: floats like a butterfly, stings like a … Ghibli?

Timothy Arnold
Timothy Arnold
1 year ago

Both are cool because they’re weird and European, and both are gonna be a huge headache because they’re weird and European.

I’d pick the SM only because it might move under its own power, where the Lancia is best left to someone who already has the parts to get it back on the road.

V10omous
V10omous
1 year ago

Just say no to French cars, always and forever. The end.

Man With A Reliable Jeep
Man With A Reliable Jeep
1 year ago

The price on that Citroën SM is pure, unadulterated meth pipe. I’d rather buy the Scorpion to either convert into a chimeric autocross missile or just part it out until it’s gone from my driveway. At least I won’t lose my hair shirt.

Stef Schrader
Stef Schrader
1 year ago

Gosh, you could probably sneak the Scorpion into Lemons at $2K. It’s an absolute mess of an Italian car. No one would notice, or care. You’d likely be up for the big awards accordingly.

If it weren’t up against a Citroën SM, though…

Eugene White
Eugene White
1 year ago

After years of watching Cold War Motors work on once-hopeless Citroens, I can’t resist.

BigOldAndy
BigOldAndy
1 year ago

I believe Richard Hammond summed up the SM well in that is combined French complexity and Italian fragility. If I had the skill, budget, and patient spouse, I’d have to go with the Lancia.

XLEJim700
XLEJim700
1 year ago

I disingenuosly voted Lancia because of its heritage. I know myself well enough to realize that I would not see the restoration through to its end.

But rules is rules and a vote needs be cast.

I do wonder though if such a project on a machine like this would suck you in one day at a time. Sort of like AA in its most positive guise.

God knows these cars are seductive. Maybe just start with some wheels and tires–sorta like a kiss on the cheek.

Mr. Asa
Mr. Asa
1 year ago

Never had any interest in the Citroen’s weirdness. Appreciate it, but dont’ want.

Unfortunately, reading the ad for the Lancia, it sounds like the body is what’s for sale for $2k, not the engine and such? There’s some dancing around that.

S13 Sedan
S13 Sedan
1 year ago

I’ll take the Citroen. It likely will cause great agony and suffering but I get a running, driving Citroen SM at the end and that makes it all worthwhile. How hard could the suspension really be? It’s just a pump, some lines, and some spheres.

Mike Kovac
Mike Kovac
1 year ago
Reply to  S13 Sedan

Take off the inside front wheel cover from a SM and then tell me that. I’ve seen jetliners with less hydraulic plumbing complexity.

Geoff Buchholz
Geoff Buchholz
1 year ago

Ugh, both of these cars are SO GOOD (in their finished forms).

I’m not afraid of the Citroen … ok, maybe I am a little … but the Lancia might be a bit more straightforward to put back on the road. And it’s super clean under all that dust. The Scorpion it is.

JDE
JDE
1 year ago
Reply to  Geoff Buchholz

except all the hard parts to find are squirreled away for the seller to sell to you later in desperation. neither of these cars are really good deals. the citroen at $2k maybe. but it would still be a real pain to make work adequately again, and even then it would still be just an occasional cars and coffee ride in the event it starts on that day.

Nlpnt
Nlpnt
1 year ago

No.

10001010
10001010
1 year ago

Oui oui

Mr. Canoehead
Mr. Canoehead
1 year ago
Reply to  10001010

Sacre bleu…..Merde

Man With A Reliable Jeep
Man With A Reliable Jeep
1 year ago
Reply to  10001010

Non, non

Dogisbadob
Dogisbadob
1 year ago

They need about the same amount of work, but $2000 is a better down payment starting price than 14k, so I voted for the Lancia.

There are other Citroens with the cool suspension in better condition at better prices. What’s the going rate for an SM in good condition? How easy is it to swap an LS? 😉

ADDvanced
ADDvanced
1 year ago
Reply to  Dogisbadob
Boxing Pistons
Boxing Pistons
1 year ago

I would say run away, but a leisurely stroll is quick enough as neither car will be moving under its own steam in the next decade.

TheHairyNug
TheHairyNug
1 year ago
Reply to  Boxing Pistons

I’d be tempted to EV conversion the Lancia. It would probably be the quickest way towards getting it moving under its own power

Matthew Lange
Matthew Lange
1 year ago

I would imagine that the Lancia (well it’s VIN and a few other components) could well end up being one of these.

https://youtu.be/dka23CLiiuA

PaysOutAllNight
PaysOutAllNight
1 year ago

When you have the option, you always take the dream car, no matter how difficult or complicated it may be. The SM is the easy winner for me. Learning all the odd nuances of it is part of the reason I dream of owning one.

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