Fifth Meeting of the IFCCSM - Saturday 8 February 2003

According to tradition, the fifth meeting of the IFCCSM was held during Retromobile at the Hôtel Mercure Porte de la Plaine, close to the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre. This year, representatives from Sweden and Switzerland were unable to attend, but the conference room was well filled with 14 participants from the other countries.

The meeting started with a novelty, because Adrian Furtado had invited Jerry and Sylvia Hathaway to address the meeting and tell everyone about the spectacular SM racing car developed by them and exhibited on the stand of the SM Club de France at Retromobile this year.

Jerry, aided by Sylvia, explained the history of the car and the various stages leading to the establishment of the 200 mph record for the fastest production car on the Bonneville salt flats in California, a record established in 1985 which still stands today. Initially, between 1979 and 1985, Jerry attended the annual race week on the flats and gradually built up the speed of the SM from 125 to 150 to 175 and finally in 1985 to over 200 mph. The record attempt requires a pass in two directions over a 5-mile course. The speeds over a 2-mile stretch in each direction are averaged to give the result. Immediately after a record attempt is made, the engine is partly dismantled to verify the characteristics of the engine as part of the qualifying process.

In the 1990s, not to be outdone by her husband, Sylvia also went through the qualifying process and was eventually certified as having exceeded 200 mph in the SM. Believing that the 200 mph record will not last indefinitely, the couple plan to enhance the car's turbo-charged performance and attempt a record of 220 mph in 2005. The audience, mainly accustomed to km, suggested that the record attempt be slightly increased to achieve 360 kph.

After this exciting start to the meeting, Pierre Fraleux, now designated Vice-President responsible for spare parts in the SM Club de France, and host of Jerry and Sylvia during their stay in France, gave a review of the status of the parts he is currently remanufacturing or planning to remanufacture. As usual, the high level of investment required to fund a sufficient volume of parts to achieve a reasonable unit cost was stressed, as well as the fact that not all parts which need to be remanufactured can be handled, owing to the investment required. He also mentioned the possibility of another subscription for highly-expensive parts, as was used in the case of the headlights a few years ago. To save duplication of effort, it was agreed to circulate details of proposed parts remanufacturing projects among the federation clubs.

For SeMantics, Brian Cass announced details of the 3 rallies being organised in the UK this year as well as a development which will be of interest to all English-speaking readers of this report: SeMantics plans to launch an English language magazine, dedicated completely to the SM, in September 2003. The annual subscription will be approximately £35 or 50€ for 4 issues, one per quarter. Via its website, SeMantics will sell this magazine on a world-wide basis to SM enthusiasts in places such as Australia, New Zealand and USA, using its Visa credit card facilities to simplify payment.

Michel Sivirine, the newly elected president of the French club, confirmed that membership is currently stable around the 600 mark and that the club will its 20th birthday with a national rally in Brittany including a visit to Noyal sur Vilaine where the very first SM club rally was held in 1983. 7 rallies in total will be held throughout France in 2003. To improve the publicity for these events, it is planned to put the enrolment forms on the club's website, since for regional rallies the mailing list is normally limited to members living in the region concerned. This will hopefully encourage members from farther a-field to participate.

Maurizio Baiocchi announced that Italy will host the SM International Rally in 2004. The proposed dates are 28 to 30 May. The draft programme was handed out giving Genoa, the "Riviera of the Levant" as the location. Genoa will also be the European Capital of Culture in 2004. To help with the organisation of this event, the other presidents were asked to give their approval of the dates and programme and also supply a forecast of the likely number of participants from each club. The Italian club now has 50 members, who by paying a double subscription are also full members of the SM Club de France. The 2003 programme includes a rally in April organised by several Citroën clubs in honour of Robert Opron, as well as the Italian club's 20th national rally in September.

Friedrich Soegtrop, who has now been president of German SM club for 15 years, expressed his wish to retire from the post after this year's annual general meeting in May, provided that a successor can be found, but this is not certain. The club has 220 members and now sells 130 different types of spare part from its new, enlarged warehouse. There are 5 regional groups, essential in a country where Berlin is further from Frankfurt than Paris.

Adrian Furtado read the report received from Felix Muff, president of the Swiss club, which now, like the other clubs represented, has its own website. After the big success of the international rally in 2002, this year there will be the 2 rallies as usual, one in April and one in September. The club currently has 87 members.

Finally, Jan-Tjerk Eelkema, treasurer of the Dutch club, updated us on the SM International and other news. The club is still growing with 157 members in 2003. Paul Paymans is the president/chairman and Peter Pijlmann has left the committee following his move to southern France, where his health is improved. Apart from the International, the Dutch club will also be involved with Citromobile in Utrecht in May. Roland van der Spek, responsible for the club magazine, attended the federation meeting for the first time. Next year we hope to welcome the president. Participants were warned to make their payments for the rally as soon as possible, since hotel accommodation is limited.

After the arrival of friends, there were 20 people at dinner and we look forward to the next meeting in a year's time. For additional information about the events noted above, please refer to the clubs' websites.

Adrian Furtado