Keith’s Blog: The SCM Citroën DS21 is Moving On - Sports Car Market

Oct 22, 2024

We’re shuffling the SCM collection (menagerie?) again.

Our 1971 Citroën DS21 Pallas has been an extraordinary car. Since we bought it last August, we have put 1,500 miles on it. Most recently it completed the SCM 1000 without any issues. It was driven by Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance Founder Bill Warner and SCM Contributor Ken Gross.

We are selling it because we have done everything we wanted with it. Cruising down the highway at 70 mph with four adults sitting comfortably in a 50-year-old French car is a unique experience. Driving it up to Timberline Lodge and along the two-lane highways of the Columbia Gorge was a treat. It is on-the-button and ready to go to the next owner.

All of us have enjoyed learning to operate the semi-automatic transmission. It’s like a manual on the highways, and in town makes getting through traffic much more pleasant. There’s a reason the BVH transmission was standard on Euro DS21s.

It is being sold for us by Greg Long, an SCMer and Citroën expert who restored the car. We bought the car from him; the last bid on BaT was $70k. The completed auction is still available online. For more information, contact Greg at [email protected].

The Cheap Classic Conundrum – Enter the W114

We will be featuring Cars of Germany on the 2023 SCM 1000. (Registration at www.scm1000.com will be open soon.) That creates an excuse to buy something Teutonic.

I’ve always admired the svelte lines of the W114 Mercedes-Benz coupe, but never owned one.

After looking for a few weeks, I am encountering the Cheap Classic Conundrum. As these cars have been out of favor and inexpensive for so many years, every one I have found has deferred maintenance needs of one kind of another. With labor rates well above $100/hour, it doesn’t take many flex-joints, tie-rod ends and a/c compressor rebuilds to put yourself completely underwater with these cars.

I am looking for small-bumper car (1970-73), with a/c. No rust, and no glaring needs. I do expect I’ll need to spend to correct deferred maintenance no matter what I buy, but the car needs to be solid to begin with.

If you have something or know of a car you think might fit, text me at 503.970.1070 or send an email to [email protected].

I don’t expect a 250/280 coupe to be a sports car, but I imagine one in fine fettle, perhaps with upgraded shocks, springs and swaybars would be a nice cruiser for next year’s tour.

I look forward to your thoughts and suggestions.

Keith Martin has been involved with the collector car hobby for more than 30 years. As a writer, publisher, television commentator and enthusiast, he is constantly on the go, meeting collectors and getting involved in their activities throughout the world. He is the founder and publisher of the monthly Sports Car Market, now in its 33rd year. Keith has written for the New York Times, Automobile, AutoWeek, Road & Track and other publications, is an emcee for numerous concours, and had his own show, “What’s My Car Worth,” shown on Velocity.He has received many honors, including the Lee Iacocca Award, the Edward Herrman Award, was inducted into the Concorso Italiano Hall of Fame and more. He is on the boards of directors of The LeMay Museum and Oregon Ballet Theater, and was formerly the chair of the board of the Meguiar's Award.