Belgian title

Chassis No. 00SB6200 Engine No. 104.828 Heuliez No. HZ1971-1

- Displayed on the Heuliez stand at the 1971 Paris Motor Show

- Restored to its Paris Motor Show specification

- Exceptional restoration

- Extremely ingenious convertible roof mechanism

 

The Espace project began in 1971 at Heuliez, a coachbuilder in Cerizay, following the regular visits made by Robert Opron, the designer of the SM. At the time, car companies were looking for convertible roof systems which would not be detrimental to safety, and Heuliez devised an ingenious mechanism using slatted blinds which slid under a central T-bar joining the top of the windscreen to the rear of the car. Heuliez made it more exclusive still by replacing the rear screen with louvres like those on the Lamborghini Miura, and the prototype was displayed in this form on the Heuliez stand at the 1971 Paris Motor Show, finished in Aubergine with streamlined wheel covers and an interior in cream and green leather. It appeared again at the 1972 Brussels Motor Show, on the Citroën stand, with some changes (with a standard interior and wheel trims, but without the rear louvres), perhaps to persuade the manufacturer to put it into production. Citroën, however, did not pursue the project, and the car was kept by M. Heuliez, who had it repainted in his wife’s favourite colour, ‘Bleu Delta’.

Later, the SM Espace made several public appearances, and before being shown on the French SM Club stand at Rétromobile in 2004, it was repainted by members of the club to make good its ageing paint.

 

In 2007, faced with major financial problems, Heuliez decided to part with its collection of prototypes, and they were sold at auction by Artcurial in July 2012. The SM Espace was bought by Denys Joannon, a former Citroën dealer and collector of the marque, who presented the car at the Concours d'Élégance at Chantilly in 2015. Joannon gave the car to his daughter and it was from her that Thierry Dehaeck was able to buy it on 15 June 2018.

 

In May 2019, he decided to return the SM Espace to its original specification, that of the 1971 Paris Motor Show. Contrary to what has sometimes been written, this is indeed the Show car, as was confirmed by the traces of Aubergine paint found at different places on the body when it was stripped down. It was not this car but a bare shell, used to test the retractable roof mechanism, that was destroyed after testing; a second SM Espace exists, built at the request of a friend of M. Heuliez and now in a private collection.

A delicate restoration then followed, for which the involvement of Yves Dubernard, the designer responsible for the car at Heuliez, was an invaluable help. Drawings were prepared for the wheel covers and louvred rear window, which were remade exactly as they had been. The restoration was completed in March 2021 and the results were amazing: the car was once again in its characteristic Aubergine colour, the roof blinds slid back electrically as they did originally and the rear of the car showed off its spectacular styling. The SM Espace was now worthy of its place alongside the other exceptional SMs in the Dehaeck collection, including the Chapron-bodied Mylord convertible. The restoration is copiously documented, with many photographs showing Yves Dubernard at work. Dubernard chose the leather and re-designed all the special parts. Without his help, Thierry Dehaeck admitted that the restoration would have been virtually impossible. In Dehaeck’s hands, the car won several first prizes at concours such as that at Zoute or Salon Privé in August 2022. It was also chosen as ‘Car of the Year’ in the Octane Historic Motoring Awards that year. in short, this is a most important car, technically and for its design and innovation, which will be crowned with honours wherever it goes.

 

Sold with a substantial file of documents and photographs (including an SM Espace brochure), it is presented today just as it was at the 1971 Paris Motor Show and the 1972 Brussels Motor Show, with its special bodywork, white and green leather upholstery and streamlined wheel covers. Many photographs of the Show from the period show the Espace and the hostesses dressed in colours to match its futuristic interior. This is an exceptional car which deserves its place at the top events to shine a light throughout the world on the talent of one of the last great French coachbuilders.