Citroën DS

Turn indicators were mounted in the upper corners of the rear window, tail and brake lights integrated in chromed rear bumper.

After 18 years of secret development as the successor to the Traction Avant, the DS 19 was introduced on October 6, 1955, at the Paris Motor Show. In the first 15 minutes of the show, 743 orders were taken, and orders for the first day totalled 12,000.[7] During the 10 days of the show, the DS took in 80,000 deposits; a record that stood for over 60 years,[8] until it was eclipsed by the Tesla Model 3 which received 180,000 first day deposits in March 2016.[9] The original list price for a 1959 ID19 was US$2,833 ($28,440 in 2022 dollars).[10][11]

Contemporary journalists said the DS pushed the envelope in the ride vs. handling compromise possible in a motor vehicle.[12][13][14]

To a France still deep in reconstruction after the devastation of World War II, and also building its identity in the post-colonial world, the DS was a symbol of French ingenuity.[15] The DS was distributed to many territories throughout the world.[16]

At the 1963 Amsterdam International Autoshow, Citroën presented a DS body as a sculpture, upright like a rocket, on a rotating platform.

It also posited the nation's relevance in the Space Age, during the global race for technology of the Cold War.[15] Structuralist philosopher Roland Barthes, in an essay about the car, said that it looked as if it had "fallen from the sky".[17] An American advertisement summarised this selling point: "It takes a special person to drive a special car".[18]

Because they were owned by the technologically aggressive tyre manufacturer Michelin, Citroën had designed their cars around the technologically superior radial tyre since 1948, and the DS was no exception.[19][20]

The car used front leading-arms and trailing-arms at the rear, with totally novel hydropneumatic spring and damper units. The car's advanced hydraulics included automatic self-levelling and driver adjustable ride-height,[21] developed in-house by Paul Magès. This suspension allowed the DS to travel quickly on the poor road surfaces then common in France.[22]

In addition, the vehicle had power steering and a semi-automatic transmission (the transmission required no clutch pedal but gears still had to be shifted by hand,[23] with the shift lever controlling a powered hydraulic shift mechanism in place of a mechanical linkage). It had a fibreglass roof which lowered the centre of gravity, and so reduced weight transfer. Inboard front disc brakes (as well as independent suspension) reduced unsprung weight. Different front and rear track widths reduced the unequal tyre loading, which is well known to promote understeer, typical of front-engined and front-wheel drive cars.[24] Although disc brakes had been tried on a car as early as 1902 by British Lanchester, volume production had not been applied until 1949, by USA small car manufacturer Crosley, but without success. The Citroën DS was the first successful fielding of disc brakes on a mass-produced car.[4]

Furthermore, at launch the DS featured innovative centerlock wheels which used a captive allen bolt as the central fastener whilst a hexagonal protrusion transferred the drive to a matching recess in the wheel. This made it possible to change the wheel very quickly in the event of a puncture and proved an advantage in motor racing.[25]

As with all French cars, the DS design was affected by the tax horsepower system, which effectively encouraged smaller engines. Unlike the Traction Avant predecessor, there was no top-of-range model with a powerful six-cylinder engine. Citroën had planned an air-cooled flat-6 engine for the car, but did not have the funds to put the prototype engine into production.

The DS placed third in the 1999 Car of the Century competition, and fifth on the 2005 list of "100 Coolest Cars" by Automobile Magazine.[26] It was also named the most beautiful car of all time by Classic & Sports Car magazine after a poll of 20 world-renowned car designers, including Giorgetto Giugiaro, Ian Callum, Roy Axe, Paul Bracq, and Leonardo Fioravanti.[6]

DS19 at the 1956 1000 Lakes Rally

The DS was successful in motorsports like rallying, where sustained speeds on poor surfaces are paramount, and won the Monte Carlo Rally in 1959. In the 1000 Lakes Rally, Pauli Toivonen drove a DS19 to victory in 1962.

In 1966, the DS won the Monte Carlo Rally again, with some controversy as the competitive BMC Mini-Cooper team was disqualified due to rule infractions. Ironically, Mini was involved with DS competition again two years later, when a drunk driver in a Mini in Sydney Australia crashed into the DS that was leading the 1968 London–Sydney Marathon, 158 km (98 mi) from the finish line.[27] Robert Neyret won the Rallye du Maroc in 1969 and 1970 in a DS 21.[28]

The DS was still competitive in the grueling 1974 London-Sahara-Munich World Cup Rally, where it won over 70 other cars, only 5 of which even completed the entire event.[29][30]

At rest, Citroën DS will slowly sink to the ground as the engine-driven hydraulic system is depressurized.

In conventional cars, hydraulics are only used in brakes and power steering. In the DS they were also used for the suspension, clutch, and transmission. The cheaper 1957 ID19 did have manual steering and a simplified power braking system. An engine-driven pump pressurizes the closed system to 17.2 MPa (2,490 psi)[31]

At a time when few passenger vehicles had independent suspension on all wheels, the application of the hydraulic system to the car's suspension system to provide a self-levelling system was an innovative move. This suspension allowed the car to achieve sharp handling combined with very high ride quality, frequently compared to a "magic carpet".[32][33]

The hydropneumatic suspension used was pioneered the year before, on the rear of another car from Citroën, the top of range Traction Avant 15CV-H.

Two DS and Traction Avant

The 1955 DS cemented the Citroën brand name as an automotive innovator, building on the success of the Traction Avant, which had been the world's first mass-produced unitary body front-wheel-drive car in 1934.[34] In fact, the DS caused such a huge sensation that Citroën was apprehensive that future models would not be of the same bold standard. No clean sheet new models were introduced from 1955 to 1970.

The DS was a large, expensive[35] executive car and a downward brand extension was attempted, but without result. Throughout the late 1950s and 1960s, Citroën developed many new vehicles for the very large, profitable market segments between the 2CV and the DS, occupied by vehicles like the Peugeot 403, Renault 16 and Ford Cortina, but none made it into production.[36][37][38] Either they had uneconomic build costs, or were ordinary "me too" cars, not up to the company's high standard of innovation. As Citroën was owned by Michelin from 1934 to 1974 as a sort of research laboratory, such broad experimentation was possible. Michelin was getting a powerful advertisement for the capabilities of the radial tyre Michelin had invented, when such experimentation was successful.

New models based on the small, utilitarian 2CV economy car were introduced, such as the 1961 Ami. It was also designed by Flaminio Bertoni and aimed to combine Three-box styling with the chassis of the 2CV. The Ami was very successful in France, but less so on export markets. Many found the styling controversial, and the car noisy and underpowered.[39] The Dyane was a modernised 2CV with a hatchback that competed with the 2CV inspired Renault 4 Hatchback. All these 2 cylinder models were very small, so there remained a wide market gap to the DS range all through the 1960s.

In 1970, Citroën finally introduced a car to target the mid-range – the Citroën GS, which won the "European car of the Year" for 1971 and sold 2.5 million units. It combined a small 41 kW (55 hp) flat-4 air-cooled engine with Hydropneumatic suspension. The intended 79 kW (106 hp) Wankel rotary-engined version with more power did not reach full production.

The DS maintained sales and remained competitive throughout its production run. Its peak production year was 1970. Certain design elements like the somewhat narrow cabin, column-mounted gearstick, and separate fenders began to seem a little old-fashioned in the 1970s.

Citroën invested enormous resources to design and launch an entirely new vehicle in 1970, the SM, which was in effect a thoroughly modernized DS, with similar length, but greater width.[40] The manual gearbox was a modified DS unit. The front disc brakes were the same design. Axles, wheel bearings, steering knuckles, and hydraulic components were either DS parts or modified DS parts.[41]

The SM had a different purpose than replacing the 15-year-old DS design, however – it was meant to launch Citroën into a completely new luxury grand touring market segment. Only fitted with a costly, exotic Maserati engine, the SM was faster and much more expensive than the DS. The SM was not designed to be a practical 4-door saloon suitable as a large family car, the key market for vehicles of this type in Europe. Typically, manufacturers would introduce low-volume coupés based on parts shared with an existing saloon, not as unique models, a contemporary example being the Mercedes-Benz SLC (C107).[42] BMW follows a similar strategy of a mid-size sedan (5 series), large coupe (6 series), and large sedan (7 series) sharing common underpinnings.[40]

The SM's high price and limited utility of the 2+2 seating configuration meant the SM as actually produced could not seize the mantle from the DS. While the design funds invested would allow the DS to be replaced by two cars, a 'modern DS' and the smaller CX, it was left to the CX alone to provide Citroën's large family or executive car in the model range.[5][40]

The last DS came off the production line on 24 April 1975 – with Citroën building up approximately eight months of inventory of the 'break'/'Safari' (estate/station wagon) version of the DS, to continue sales until the autumn of 1975 when the estate/station wagon version of the CX would be introduced.[5]

The DS maintained its size and shape, with easily removable, unstressed body panels, but design changes occurred. During the 20-year production, improvements were made on an ongoing basis.

ID 19 submodel to extend brand downwards (1957–69)

The 1955 DS19 was 65% more expensive than the car it replaced, the Citroën Traction Avant.[43] This affected potential sales in a country still recovering economically from World War II, so a cheaper submodel, the Citroën ID, was introduced in 1957.

1967 Citroën ID19B

The ID shared the DS's body but was less powerful and luxurious. Although it shared the engine capacity of the DS engine (at this stage 1,911 cc), the ID provided a maximum power output of only 51 kW (69 hp) compared to the 56 kW (75 hp) claimed for the DS19.[44] Power outputs were further differentiated in 1961 when the DS19 acquired a Weber-32 twin bodied carburettor, and the increasing availability of higher octane fuel enabled the manufacturer to increase the compression ratio from 7.5:1 to 8.5:1.[44] A new DS19 now came with a promised 62 kW (83 hp).[44] The ID19 was also more traditional mechanically: it had no power steering and had conventional transmission and clutch instead of the DS's hydraulically controlled set-up. Initially, the basic ID19 was sold on the French market with a price saving of more than 25% against the DS, although the differential was reduced at the end of 1961 when the manufacturer withdrew the entry-level ID19 "Normale".[44] A station wagon variant, the ID Break, was introduced in 1958.

Series 2 – Nose redesign in 1962

1956 Citroën DS in the Museum der Autostadt Wolfsburg, showing Series 1 (1955–62) original nose

Citroën DS Convertible – Series 2 (1963–1967) – redesigned nose

1974 Citroën DS23 Pallas – Series 3 (1968–1976) with four headlights under glass

Directional headlight detail of a DS21

In September 1962, the DS was restyled with a more aerodynamically efficient nose, better ventilation, and other improvements. It retained the open two headlamp appearance, but was available with an optional set of driving lights mounted on the front fenders. All models in the range changed nose design at the same time, including the ID and station wagon models.

1972 DS in Thailand with special cooling vents

Swedish-spec Citroën DS with headlight wipers

The DS was primarily manufactured at the Quai André-Citroën in the Javel neighborhood of Paris, with other manufacturing facilities in the United Kingdom, South Africa, the former Yugoslavia (mostly Break Ambulances), and Australia.

Australia constructed their own D variant in the 1960s at Heidelberg, Victoria, identified as the ID 19 "Parisienne."[56] Australian market cars were fitted with options as standard equipment such as the "DSpecial DeLuxe" that were not available on domestic European models.

Until 1965 UK cars were assembled at the manufacturer's Slough premises, to the west of London, using a combination of French-made knock down kits and locally sourced components, some of them machined on site.[57] A French electrical system superseded the British one on the Slough cars in 1962, giving rise to a switch to "continental style" negative earthing. An intermediate model between the DS and the ID, called the DW, was introduced on the UK market in 1963 with a manual transmission and simpler foot-operated clutch while retaining the DS power unit, power steering and power braking; outside of the UK this model was known as the DS19M.[58][59] When the 1985 cc engine replaced the original 1911 cc unit in September 1965 the manual-equipped DSes built in Slough were renamed DS19A. The Slough factory closed on 18 February 1966 and thereafter cars for the British market were imported fully assembled from the company's French plant.[57][59] The British-built cars are distinguished by their leather seats, wooden (early ID19 models) or one-piece plastic (early DS19 models) dashboards, chromed number plate mount set into the front bumper, and (on pre-1962 cars) Lucas-made electrics. These were all right hand drive cars.

The DS was built and sold in South Africa from 1959 to 1975.[60]

The DS was sold in Japan, but the models were built in France and left hand drive.[61]

Cadillac much larger than DS externally

DS Citroën near Mount Baker, Washington, USA, ca. 1970

US-spec 1969 Citroën DS with exposed headlights

The DS was sold in North America from 1956 to 1972. Despite its popularity in Europe and regard for its design from the American motoring press,[14] it did not sell well in the United States, and little better in Canada. While promoted as a luxury car, it did not have the basic features that American buyers expected to find on such a vehicle, such as an automatic transmission, air conditioning, power windows, or a powerful engine.[62] The DS was designed specifically to address the French market, with punitive tax horsepower taxation of large engines and very poor roads, and not for a market where those constraints were removed.[63]

Further harming the DS' prospects on the other side of the Atlantic was an inadequate supply of parts for the vehicle. Jay Leno described the sporadic supply of spare parts as a problem for 1970s era customers, based on his early experiences working at a Citroën dealer in Boston.[64] Additionally, the DS was expensive, with a 115 hp (86 kW) vehicle costing $4,170 in 1969,[65] when the price was $4,500 for a 360 hp (268 kW) Buick Electra 225 4 door sedan.[66] The Electra was available with an automatic transmission, power windows, and came with a much larger engine (a 7,040 cc V8), and it was hardly the only competitor to the DS to have these features as options or as standard.

As a result of the insufficient supply of replacement parts, an inability to compete with bigger and more luxurious cars sold for the same price, and simply having not been designed for the North American market, sales for the DS were mediocre on the North American market, ultimately reaching a total of 38,000.

US regulations at the time also banned one of the car's more advanced features: its composite headlamps with aerodynamic covered lenses. Based on legislation that dated from 1940, all automobiles sold in the U.S. were required to have round, sealed-beam headlamps that produced 75,000 candlepower.[67] The DS's quartz iodine swiveling headlamps designed for the 1968 model were not allowed by the regulations. Even the aerodynamic headlight covers, featured on other cars such as the Jaguar E-Type were illegal and had to be removed. It was not until Ford Motor Company lobbied to have composite headlamps allowed that the sealed-beam headlamp requirements were finally rescinded in 1983.[63]

However, the European lamps were legal in Canada, including the directional headlamps.[68]

The hydraulic fluid change in 1967 also fell afoul of American regulations. NHTSA follows the precautionary principle, also used by the Food and Drug Administration, where new innovations are prohibited until their developers can prove them safe to the regulators.[69] The castor-based LHV and synthetic LHS fluids used in European-market DSes were not certified for use in North America, so cars sold there used conventional brake fluid instead. Brake fluid (as well as LHV and LHS) is hygroscopic and miscible, readily absorbing and mixing with moisture, the idea being that within a closed hydraulic circuit these properties will ensure pockets of non-soluble water will not form and cause corrosion of the system from within. The design of the DS's hydraulic system used much more fluid and allowed much more moist air into the system than a simple hydraulic braking circuit, so the fluid's hygroscopic properties were not preventing corrosion as intended. Brake fluid also did not provide the viscosity and lubricity suited for used in the suspension, clutch and gear change mechanism. Mineral-based LHM fluid was designed to remedy these issues but Citroen was obligated to demonstrate the new fluid was safe for automotive use before it could be installed in American-market cars. It took NHTSA until January 1969 to approve it, so in the US market about half the production of cars in the 1969 model year use the older red LHS fluid and half use newer green LHM fluid, neither of which is compatible with the other.[70]

President Charles de Gaulle survived an assassination attempt at Le Petit-Clamart near Paris on 22 August 1962, planned by Algerian War veteran Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry. The plan was to ambush the motorcade with machine guns, disable the vehicles, and then close in for the kill. De Gaulle praised the unusual abilities of his unarmoured Citroën DS with saving his life – the car, riddled with bullets and two tyres punctured, was still able to escape at full speed. Afterward, De Gaulle vowed never to ride in any other make of car.[89] This event was accurately recreated in the film The Day of the Jackal (1973).

The 1961 Citroën DS 19 Décapotable Usine by Henri Chapron garnered publicity for the new model, from its prominent film placement, when Cary Grant himself "telephoned the French automotive company, Citroën, to order a new car for use in the film That Touch of Mink (1962).[90][91]

Général Charles de Gaulle visits Isles-sur-Suippe (Marne) in 1963

Flying DS from Fantômas

1969 Citroën DS 21 Pallas originally owned by actor Ken Berry of F Troop—note non-factory vinyl roof and C-Pillars—dealer added

La DS 1993 Sculpture by Gabriel Orozco, exhibited at Museum of Modern Art[92]

Citroën DS 21 used in the 2009 American television program The Mentalist

Flying DS shown during Citroën cars exhibition at Mullin Automotive Museum 2018

Henri Chapron's Lorraine model at 2005 Paris meeting

Citroën DS values have been rising[93] – a 1973 DS 23 Injection Electronique "Decapotable" (Chapron Convertible) sold for €176,250 (US$209,738) at Christie's Rétromobile in February 2006.[94] A similar car sold by Bonhams in February 2009 brought €343,497 (US$440,436).[95] On 18 September 2009 a 1966 DS21 Decapotable Usine was sold by Bonhams for a hammer price of GB£131,300. Bonhams sold another DS21 Decapotable (1973) on 23 January 2010 for €189,000.[96]

Citroën was the featured exhibit at the Mullin Automotive Museum for the year 2017/8, and the DS made its first appearance on the lawn at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 2018.[97]

The DS's place in French society was demonstrated in Paris on 9 October 2005 with a celebration of the 50th anniversary of its launch. 1,600 DS cars drove in procession past the Arc de Triomphe.[98]

In 2009, Groupe PSA created a new brand – DS Automobiles, intended as high quality, high specification variations on existing models, with differing mechanics and bodywork.[99] This brand was introduced in three models, the DS 3, DS 4, and the DS 5. The DS 3, launched in March 2010, is based on Citroën's new C3, but is more customisable and unique, bearing some resemblance to the original DS, with its "Shark Fin" side pillar.

• Road & Track magazine, USA. November 1956.
• Road & Track magazine, USA. June 1958.
• Tatra 77

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Citroën DS.

• Citroën D Series at Citroënët
• Photo of Bossaert DS coupe
• Photos of Gene Winfield's 1965 Reactor
• Citroen DS at the Internet Movie Cars Database
• Maybach SW35 photos for comparison:
  • 1935 Maybach SW 35 design by Jaray, build by Spohn
  • 1935 Maybach SW 35 design by Jaray, build by Spohn