Creations
SM
TRIBUTE
On September 12 at Chantilly ARTS & ÉLEGANCE concours, DS Automobiles highlights the event by unveiling an unprecedented styling study: SM TRIBUTE. This manifesto reinterprets the design and philosophy of the 1970 eponymous iconic model, projecting it into the future. A full-scale rolling mock-up is presented in Chantilly, while the inside of the 100% digital manifesto is unveiled on the DS Automobiles website. Discover the key points of the exterior and interior design of SM TRIBUTE, through the testimonies of the DS design studio teams..
SM TRIBUTE : genesis
“With the original DS, SM is part of our heritage: its exceptional proportions and rarity are an inexhaustible source of inspiration! We then launched a style competition between our designers. Our teams have imagined a style study, which reinterprets the original style of the SM while feeding on the avant-garde spirit of our future models. Such a model could benefit from ultra-high performance electrical technology.”
Thierry METROZ, Design Director - DS Automobiles.
The DS DESIGN STUDIO teams have regularly given free rein to their imagination in designing modern versions of the original SM. Especially in spring 2020, when sketches (style drawings), named #SM2020, were published on social media.
When the new Brand Director, Olivier FRANÇOIS, was appointed in mid-2023, he was particularly interested in the Brand’s historic models. He was immediately seduced by the designers’ work inspired by DS Automobile’s heritage models.
SM TRIBUTE at Chantilly
ARTS & ÉLEGANCE concours
Revealing SM TRIBUTE at the Chantilly ARTS & ÉLEGANCE contest was a no-brainer. Created in 2014, this show has become the ‘must-attend’ event for automakers and car enthusiasts, as well as Pebble Beach in California and Villa d'Este in Italy.
Here, concepts and beautiful bodyworks meet, creating a bridge between past and future. DS Automobiles has always showcased one of its models. In 2016, DS E-TENSE received the most coveted “Best of Show” award and in 2022, DS E-TENSE PERFORMANCE was awarded the innovation prize.
EXTERIOR DESIGN: inspirations
Coupé 2+2 proportions
“SM TRIBUTE embodies the Spirit of avant-garde of the Brand. Its 2+2 Coupé proportions with a tapered front a long bonnet and a streamlined rear echo the elegant silhouette of the original SM.”
Frédéric SOUBIROU, Exterior Design Manager - DS Automobiles.
Reinterpretation of the original SM exterior design.
“The team enthusiastically refocused on this project, inspired by photos of Sarah Moon. The SM was a car apart from its launch. At the same time efficient and luxurious, without being ostentatious, it expressed modernity, especially through its transverse canopy to the front and efficiency with its masked rear wheel passage. It was a real UFO, as was the original DS in its time.”
Frédéric SOUBIROU, Exterior Design Manager - DS Automobiles.
The glass lens at the front of SM TRIBUTE houses a bright animated screen, and the three modules that make up the front lights on both sides. This is directly inspired by the original SM.
In combination with the vertical LED daytime running lights, the bright display creates a ‘signature’ that connects to DS Automobiles' models and concepts.
The SM TRIBUTE runaway line revisits the pointed design of the original SM’s C-pillar. This design emphasizes the symmetry with the front of the arrow-shaped SM.
The SM TRIBUTE wheels are semi-spatted. They echo those of the 1970 SM, fully concealed. On the show-car, the rear wing allows to cool the brakes during the regeneration phases of the electric motor.
The extended two-tone body creates a bridge between the brand and its heritage.
“When we considered presenting SM TRIBUTE in a contest of elegance, we wanted to pay tribute to the know-how of pre-war French manufacturers, who exhibited bi-tone bodyworks.”
Vincent LOBRY, Colours, Materials and Finishes Design Manager – DS Automobiles
The golden colour which highlights the SM’s profile refers to the «Feuille Dorée» shade of the 1970 SM, adding a hand-finished satin varnish. The contrast with the glossy black underbody accentuates the visual lightness of SM TRIBUTE.
“We have imagined a gold and satin shade, which expresses the idea of fuselage, to support the dynamism and technology of the SM designed in the 70s. The extended two-tone – present on the front, the bonnet and the roof – was initially revealed on the DS AERO SPORT LOUNGE concept. This feature is now a marker of the exterior design of our creations.”
Vincent LOBRY, Colours, Materials and Finishes Design Manager – DS Automobiles.
INTERIOR DESIGN and MATERIALS:
inspirations
Reinterpretation of the original SM interior design
“We have taken the philosophy of the cockpit of the original SM: a very comfortable cocoon, in which everyone feels at ease, as if it were tailor-made.”
Luc QUIRIN – Interior Designer - DS Automobiles
• The typical style of the upper part of the dashboard, that encompasses the three oval meters of the original SM, is inspired from a shell shape. This signature is taken over by the outline of the information screen of SM TRIBUTE. This “through” screen, which is extending into the dashboard, links yesterday’s design to tomorrow’s technologies.
• The curved transparent floating central screen groups the functions, as on the original SM.
• The rectangular “Steer-by-Wire” wheel is a nod to the shape of the center of the original SM single-branch steering wheel.
• The line of door panels diagonally connects them to the top of the dashboard. This design also marks the lineage with the original SM.
• SM TRIBUTE takes up the design of the large seats with structured, statutory horizontal pillows. A touch of light allows them to be seen from the outside.
Nods to the interior design of DS Automobiles manifestos
“We have managed to make the interior design of SM TRIBUTE homogeneous, with codes that are reference without falling into retro-design, while integrating new technologies. That’s what makes me proud.”
Luc QUIRIN – Interior Designer - DS Automobiles.
“Like all our latest interior creations, we wanted to integrate cutting-edge technologies, with curved transparent screens and projection. We constantly continue to work on the fusion of technology and craftsmanship, in order to create a unique travel experience in our DS interiors.”
Thomas BOUVERET – Interior Design Manager – DS Automobiles.
• The dematerialized instrumentation screen shows matter through transparency, as on the inner manifestos M.i. 19 and M.i. 21. In SM TRIBUTE, the material incorporates golden glitter that fade at the level of instrumentation.
• The semi-circular patterns of the door panels, the sound system placed in the center, as well as the transparent central screen evoke the interior manifesto M.i. 21, presented mid 2023 at the Révélations exhibition.
“The clear interior harmony evokes serenity and the French Art of travel, typical of the Grand Tourism universe, more than sportiness. The gradient patina, darker in the lower part of the cabin, gives the illusion of floating seats.”
Vincent LOBRY, Colours, Materials and Finishes Design Manager.
Materials mixing heritage and technologies.
The leather work on the door panels, engraved with laser, reveals motifs inspired by the decorative arts. This period corresponded to the Thirties, the golden years in which the Concours d'Élégance were born.
The Pearl stitch decorations on the door panels are revisited: real pearls subtly reflect the luminous animations of the cabin. This reference to jewellery is found on the finely chiseled crystal control wheel, as well as on the center of the steering wheel.
On the seats, the symmetrical graphics of the perforations in the leather are reminiscent of the watch strap pattern of DS Automobiles models.
“SM TRIBUTE is the first style expression directly inspired from a model of our heritage, which we present to the general public. The avant-garde design connects our heritage with our future. The interior is a true expression of the French Art of Travel. Some features of his style could influence our future creations in the long term.”
Thierry METROZ, Design Director – DS Automobiles
