A moment to remember: Best of Show award, Pebble Beach, 2011, goes to the Art Deco 1934 Voisin C-25 Aerodyne of Peter and Merle Mullin. Hugues Vanhoolandt photo.

Peter Mullin passed away on September 20th at the age of 82.

VeloceToday has reported many times on the Mullin Automotive Museum he created, beginning with the opening in April of 2010. It was a commemoration of the art deco design era when exquisite art and magnificent automobiles were elements of an artful, futurist culture.*

Over the years, we have been fortunate to have four of the most seasoned, respected and knowledgeable automotive writers visit the Mullin and report back to us in detail. Larry Crane explained the museum’s display of Bugatti furniture; the late Eric Davison searched for something really different; Hugues Vanhoolandt was given a special tour and did his magic with his camera; finally, another museum traveler, Brandes Elitch, opined on the opulent Citroen celebration.

What is this? Brandes has the answer below.

Story by Brandes Elitch

Read Part 1

A series of unfortunate events transpired to seal the fate of Citroën’s SM.

This year at Retromobile, Hugues Vanhoolandt photographed a rare example of the SM on display. Heuliez, a coachbuilder, produced two examples of the SM “Espace,” which is a pillarless targa top convertible. The rear quarter windows do retract into the bodywork, unlike the SM.

By Brandes Elitch
All photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt unless otherwise marked.

“That the car was a moonshot didn’t concern our judges. Rather it invigorated them. Viewed in the perspective of the last 21 years, the SM fits more precisely in the spirit of the COTY, maybe better, than anything else being made in the world today.”