Minimal but Meticulous Restoration

Thanks to its low mileage and solid maintenance history, refurbishing the SM hypcar turned out to be a breeze! The bodywork just needed a few minor touch-ups—mostly fixing a handful of scuffs and scratches, along with replacing a couple of worn or missing trim pieces. One of the standout moments was when we tracked down two missing, aerodynamically shaped, teardrop-style chrome exhaust nozzles (photo on the left), a true SM hallmark. We also swapped out the original exhaust pipes for robust stainless steel versions.

We opted to give this beauty a fresh coat of its original colour, as the original shade had faded over time. The final paint job turned out excellently, albeit a touch darker than the original—closer to Bleu Brégançon AC637 from 1973 than the intended 1971 Bleu Platine AC632 (see comparison photos below). The new hue is definitely striking, but I’m still contemplating whether to correct this shade discrepancy in the future. I’d love to hear what you think!

A significant part of the restoration focused on the interior—especially the upholstery. While the leather door and rear side panels held up well after more than 40 years, the seats were a different story. Years of sun exposure and moisture had taken their toll, leaving the leather dried out, stretched, and torn in several places. Recreating the original upholstery pattern proved to be quite a challenge, but we persevered. We sourced high-quality, thick, coarse-grain leather—an increasingly rare find—and rebuilt the interior foam (Dunlopillo) to its original shape. The leather pieces were meticulously cut to precise measurements, correcting decades of wear and deformation. The photos below illustrate the process step by step.

Beyond the upholstery, we refreshed the headlining and upgraded the interior insulation with modern, high-grade felt. We didn’t stop there; four out of the six halogen headlights were converted to xenon with the installation of amplifier units. Additionally, we upgraded the two pivoting headlights and the remaining lights—front, rear, and interior, including the small bulb that illuminates the ignition key—to LED for cooler operation and improved energy efficiency.

Last but not least, we made a subtle yet significant improvement to the air conditioning system by adding a cut-out feature to prevent overheating—an all-too-common issue in the original setup.