A
superb and rare photo of
the magnificent 1960 Citroën DS
, as photographed for the publicity campaign that Citroën launched for the new model year 1960.
The
French Citroën DS, in
production between 1955 and 1975, was styled by Italian sculptor and industrial
designer Flaminio Bertoni. The DS was known for its aerodynamic futuristic body
design and innovative technology, including a hydropneumatic self-levelling
suspension. The DS advanced achievable standards in automobile ride quality,
handling, and braking. Citroën sold nearly 1.5 million D-series during the
model's 20-year production run. The DS came in third in the 1999 Car of the
Century competition, recognizing the world's most influential auto designs, and
was named the most beautiful car of all time by Classic & Sports Car
magazine. After 18 years of development in secret as the successor to the
venerable Traction Avant, the DS 19 was introduced on 5 October 1955 at the Paris Motor Show. The car's appearance and innovative
engineering captured the imagination of the public and the automobile industry
almost overnight. In the first 15 minutes of the show, 743 orders were taken,
and orders for the first day totalled 12,000. Far from being just a fascinating
technology in search of a purpose, contemporary journalists were effusive in
noting how the DS dramatically pushed the envelope in the ride vs. handling
compromise possible in a motor vehicle. 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 motor car was a symbol
of French ingenuity. It defied virtually every automotive design convention of
that era. It also posited the nation's relevance in the Space Age, during the
global race for technology of the Cold War. Structuralist philosopher Roland
Barthes, in an essay about the car, said that it looked as if it had
"fallen from the sky". The high price tag, however, hurt general
sales in a country still recovering from World War II, and a cheaper submodel,
the Citroën ID, was introduced in 1957. The ID shared the DS's body but was
more traditional mechanically: it had no power steering and had conventional
transmission and clutch instead of the DS's hydraulically controlled set-up. A
station wagon variant, the ID Break, was introduced in 1958. Outside of France,
the car's radical and cosmopolitan design appealed to non-conformists. An
American advertisement summarised this selling point: "It takes a special
person to drive a special car". The DS was historically significant for
many reasons, one being that it was the first mass production car with front power
disc brakes. It also featured hydropneumatic suspension including an automatic
levelling system and variable ground clearance, power steering and a
semi-automatic transmission, and a fibreglass roof which reduced weight
transfer. Inboard front brakes (as well as independent suspension) reduced
unsprung weight. Different front and rear track widths and tyre sizes reduced
the understeer typical of front-engined and front-wheel drive cars. As with all
French cars, the DS design was affected by the tax horsepower system, which
effectively mandated very small engines. Unlike the Traction Avant predecessor,
there was no top-of-range model with a powerful six cylinder engine. Despite
the rather leisurely acceleration afforded by its small four-cylinder engine, the
DS was successful in motorsports like rallying, where sustained speeds on poor
surfaces are paramount, and won the Monte Carlo Rally in 1959 and 1966. The DS
placed fifth on Automobile Magazine "100 Coolest Cars" listing in
2005. 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.
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,
although the later ID19 did have manual steering and a simplified power braking
system. 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". The system
used—hydropneumatic suspension—was pioneered the year before, on the rear of another
car from Citroën, the top of range Traction Avant 15CV-H. 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 monocoque
front wheel drive car in 1934. 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 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 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. 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 as a
sort of research laboratory, and were a powerful advertisement for the
capabilities of the radial tyre Michelin had invented, such experimentation was
possible. Other models produced by Citroën were based on the utilitarian
2-cylinder 2CV economy car (that contained some of the most advanced
independent suspension chassis engineering in the world). The Ami also designed
by Flaminio Bertoni attempted to combine the styling of the DS with the advanced
chassis of the 2CV. It was very successful in France
in the 1960s, but less so on export markets because of its controversial
styling, and by being noisy and underpowered. The Dyane, was a modernised 2CV
with a hatchback, to compete with the Renault 4. Citroën finally did introduce
the Citroën GS in 1970, which won 'European car of the Year 1970' and sold a
spectacular 2.5 million units. But it was still underpowered by a flat-4
air-cooled engine, the intended Wankel rotary engined version did not reach
full production. The DS remained popular and 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 a thoroughly modernized, much wider, faster and more expensive car than the
DS. Though the SM construction was conceptually similar to the DS—a platform
frame with many pieces spotwelded together, mid-engine, front wheel drive,
detachable front fenders, hydropneumatic suspension, rear fender skirts, and
trailing arm rear suspension—it is an entirely different car. On the SM, the
roof and rear quarter panels were welded on. Few parts are directly
interchangeable between the two cars, but the DS and SM were both assembled on
the same production lines at Quai André-Citroën, Paris. Unlike the DS,
the factory never authorized a convertible model, since Citroën felt the roof
was integral to the structure of the SM. Despite all this, the SM had to
fulfill another purpose beyond just modernizing the DS — it had to launch
Citroën into a new grand tourer market segment. This meant that unlike 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-Class. The SM's high price, driven by its Maserati engine and
limited utility of the 2+2 seating configuration, meant the SM as actually
produced could not seize the mantle from the DS. The DS was finally phased out
in 1976 after 1,455,746 cars were produced. The DS was replaced as the large
family or executive car in the model range by the CX. The development and
launch of the CX in the wake of the 1974 oil crisis, bankrupted Citroën and
forced them into a merger with Peugeot, to form PSA Peugeot-Citroën. The DS was
primarily manufactured in Paris, France — 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 "Parisiene." 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
cars were assembled at the manufacturer's Slough premises, to the west of London, using a combination of French made semi CKD kits and locally sourced
components, some of them machined on site. A French electrical system superseded
the British one on the Slough cars in 1962, giving rise to a switch to "continental style"
negative earthing. After 1965 cars for the British market were imported fully
assembled from the company's French plant. The British built cars are distinguished
by their leather seats, wooden dashboards, and (on pre-1962 cars) Lucas-made
electrics. Within some parts of the former Yugoslavia
a few examples are still in use as taxis. In the USA,
the DS's price in 1970 ranged from US$4,066 to US$4,329. The DS's appearance
did not change dramatically in the 16 years it was available in the States. US
legislation also banned one of the car's more advanced features, aerodynamic
headlamps, now common in US automobiles. The first year of aerodynamic glass enclosing
the DS's headlights, along with driving lights turned by the steering, was also
the first year those features were outlawed in the US. The VW Beetle and Jaguar
XKE had aerodynamic faired glass over their (fixed) headlights until the same
time. The DS was sold in the United States
from 1956-1972. Ultimately, 38,000 units were sold. The DS always maintained
its size and shape, with easily removable, unstressed body panels, but certain
design changes did occur. A station wagon version was introduced in 1958. It
was known by various names in different markets (Break in France,
Safari and Familiale in the UK,
Wagon in the US, and Citroën Australia used the terms Safari and Station-Wagon). It had a steel roof to
support the standard roof rack. 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. In 1965 a
luxury upgrade kit, the DS Pallas (after Greek goddess Pallas), was introduced.
This included comfort features such as better noise insulation, a more
luxurious (and optional: leather) upholstery and external trim embellishments.
In 1967, the DS and ID was again restyled. This version had a more streamlined
headlamp design, giving the car a notably shark-like appearance. This design
had four headlights under a smooth glass canopy, and the inner set swivelled
with the steering wheel. This allowed the driver to see 'around' turns,
especially valuable on twisting roads driven at high speed at night. However,
this feature was not allowed in the US
at the time, so a version with four exposed headlights that did not swivel was
made for the US market. The station wagon edition, the Break (called the ID Safari on
the UK market) and "Familiale", was also upgraded. The hydraulic
fluid changed to the technically superior LHM (Liquide Hydraulique Minéral) in
all markets except the US. Rarest and most collectable of all DS variants, a convertible was
offered from 1958 until 1973. The convertibles were built in small series by
French carrossier Henri Chapron, for the Citroën factory. The DS convertibles
used the break (station wagon) frame, which was reinforced on the sidemembers
and rear suspension swingarm bearing box. In addition, Chapron also produced a
few coupés, non-works convertibles and special sedans (including the
'Prestige,' same wheelbase but with a with a central divider, and the 'Lorraine'
notchback). The suspension system of the Citroen DS was very special. In a
hydropneumatic suspension system, each wheel is connected, not to a spring, but
to a hydraulic suspension unit consisting of a sphere of about 12 cm in diameter containing pressurised nitrogen, a cylinder containing
hydraulic fluid screwed to the suspension sphere, a piston inside the cylinder
connected by levers to the suspension itself, and a damper valve between the
piston and the sphere. A membrane in the sphere prevented the nitrogen from
escaping. The motion of the wheels translated to a motion of the piston, which
acted on the oil in the nitrogen cushion and provided the spring effect. The
damper valve took place of the shock absorber in conventional suspensions. The
hydraulic cylinder was fed with hydraulic fluid from the main pressure
reservoir via a height corrector, a valve controlled by the mid-position of the
anti-roll bar connected to the axle. If the suspension was too low, the height
corrector introduced high-pressure fluid; if it was too high, it released fluid
back to the fluid reservoir. In this manner, a constant ride height was
maintained. A control in the cabin allowed the driver to select one of five
heights: normal riding height, two slightly higher riding heights for poor
terrain, and two extreme positions for changing wheels. [The correct term
oleopneumatic (oil-air) has never gained widespread use. Hydropneumatic
(water-air) continues to be preferred overwhelmingly. The DS did not have a
jack for lifting the car off the ground. Instead, the hydraulic system enabled
wheel changes with the aid of a simple adjustable stand. To change a flat tyre,
one would adjust the suspension to its topmost setting, insert the stand into a
special peg near the flat tyre, then readjust the suspension to its lowermost
setting. The flat tyre would then retract upwards and hover above ground, ready
to be changed. This system, used on the SM also, was superseded on the CX by a
screw jack that, after the suspension was raised to the high position, lifted
the tire a fraction of an inch off the ground. The DS system, while impressive
to use, sometimes dropped the car quite suddenly, especially if the stand was
not placed precisely or the ground was soft or unlevel. The central part of the
hydraulic system was the high pressure pump, which maintained a pressure of
between 130 and 150 bar in two accumulators. These accumulators were very
similar in construction to the suspension spheres. One was dedicated to the
front brakes, and the other ran the other hydraulic systems. (On the simpler ID
models, the front brakes operated from the main accumulator.) Thus in case of a
hydraulic failure, the first indication would be that the steering became
heavy, followed by the gearbox not working; only later would the brakes fail.
The original hydropneumatic system used a vegetable oil liquide hydraulique
végétal (LHV), similar to that used in other cars at the time. Later, Citroën
changed to using a synthetic fluid liquide hydraulique synthétique (LHS). Both
of these had the disadvantage that they are hygroscopic, as is the case with
most brake fluids. Disuse allows water to enter the hydraulic components
causing deterioration and expensive maintenance work. The difficulty with hygroscopic
hydraulic fluid was exacerbated in the DS/ID due to the extreme rise and fall
in the fluid level in the reservoir, which went from nearly full to nearly
empty when the suspension extended to maximum height and the six accumulators
in the system filled with fluid. With every "inhalation" of fresh moisture-
(and dust-) laden air, the fluid absorbed more water. In August 1967, Citroën
introduced a new mineral oil-based fluid liquide hydraulique minéral (LHM).
This fluid was much less harsh on the system, and remains in use to the present
day. Briefly illegal in the U.S.,
LHM has since been adopted by manufacturers like Rolls-Royce, Jaguar, BMW, and
Audi under various labels, like "Total," "Pentosin," and
others. LHM required completely different materials for the seals. Using either
fluid in the incorrect system would completely destroy the hydraulic seals very
quickly. To help avoid this problem, Citroën added a bright green dye to the
LHM fluid and also painted all hydraulic elements bright green. The former LHS
parts were painted black. Two different hydraulic pumps were used. The DS used
a seven-cylinder axial piston pump driven off two belts and delivering
175 bar (2,540 psi) of pressure. The ID19, with its simpler hydraulic
system, had a single-cylinder pump driven by an eccentric on the camshaft. The
mechanical aspects of the gearbox and clutch were completely conventional and
the same elements were used in the ID 19. The gear change control though, consisted
of a hydraulic gear selector, and clutch control. The speed of engagement of
the clutch was controlled by a centrifugal regulator sensing engine rpm and
driven off the camshaft by a belt, the position of the butterfly valve in the
carburetor (i.e. the position of the accelerator), and the brake circuit. When
the brake was pressed, the engine idle speed dropped to an rpm below the clutch
engagement speed, thus preventing friction while stopped in gear at traffic
lights. When the brake was released, the idle speed increased to the clutch
dragging speed. The car would then creep forward much like automatic transmission
cars. This drop in idle throttle position also caused the car to have more engine
drag when the brakes were applied even before the car slowed to the idle speed
in gear, preventing the engine from pulling against the brakes. The DS was
originally designed around an air cooled flat six based on the design of the 2
cylinder engine of the 2CV, similar to the motor in the Porsche 911. Technical
and monetary issues forced this idea to be scrapped. Thus, for such a modern
car, the engine of the original DS 19 was also old-fashioned. It was derived
from the engine of the 11CV Traction Avant (models 11B and 11C).
It was an OHV four-cylinder engine with three main bearings and dry liners, and
a bore of 78 mm (3.1
in) and a stroke of 100 mm (3.9
in), giving a volumetric
displacement of 1911 cc. The cylinder head had been reworked; the 11C
had a reverse-flow cast iron cylinder head and generated 60 hp (45 kW) at
3800 rpm; by contrast, the DS 19 had an aluminium cross-flow head with
hemispherical combustion chambers and generated 75 hp (56 kW) at 4500 rpm.
Apart from these details, there was very little difference between the engines:
even the locations of the cylinder head studs were the same, so that it was
possible to put the cylinder head of a DS on a Traction Avant engine and run
it. Like the Traction Avant, the DS had the gearbox mounted in front of the
engine, with the differential in between. Thus some consider the DS to be a mid
engine front wheel drive car. It initially had a four-speed gearbox and clutch,
operated by a hydraulic controller. To change gears, the driver flicked a lever
behind the steering wheel to the next position and eased-up on the accelerator
pedal. The hydraulic controller disengaged the clutch, engaged the nominated
gear, and re-engaged the clutch. The DS and ID powerplants evolved throughout
its 20-year production life. The car was underpowered and faced constant
mechanical changes to boost the performance of the four-cylinder engine. The
initial 1911 cc 3 main bearing engine (carried forward from the Traction Avant)
of the DS 19 was replaced in 1965 with the 1985 cc 5 bearing motor of the DS
19a (called DS 20 from September 1969). The DS 21 was also introduced for model
year 1965. This was a 2175 cc, 5 main bearing engine. This engine received
a substantial increase in power with the introduction of Bosch electronic fuel
injection for 1970, making the DS one of the first mass-market cars to use electronic
fuel injection. Lastly, 1973 saw the introduction of the 2347 cc engine of
the DS 23
in both carbureted and
fuel injected forms. The DS 23 with electronic fuel injection was the most
powerful production model, producing 143 hp (107 kW). IDs and their
variants went through a similar evolution, generally lagging the DS by about
one year. ID models never received the DS 23 engine or fuel injection. The DS
was initially offered only with the "hydraulique" 4-speed
semi-automatic (bvh-"boîte de vitesses hydraulique") gearbox. The
later and simpler ID19 had the same gearbox and clutch, manually operated. This
configuration was offered as a cheaper option for the DS in the mid-1960s. In
September 1970 Citroën introduced a 3-speed fully-automatic Borg-Warner and a
five-speed manual gearbox, in addition to the original four-speed unit. The
full-automatic transmissions were intended for the US market, but as Citroën
withdrew from the US in 1972, the year of highest US sales, due to constrictive
road rules, most automatic DSs, fuel-injected DS 23 sedans with air
conditioning, were sold in Australia. Directional headlights were introduced as
an option on the DS in September 1967 (standard on the Pallas model) for the
first time on a Citroën. Behind each glass cowl, the innermost headlight
swiveled by up to 80° as the driver steered, lighting the inside of a bend.
This allowed the driver to see where his eyes were looking — instead of just
straight ahead. The outermost headlights were self-leveling and reacted to
pitching caused by acceleration and braking. The DS has been used in many film
and television productions,[14] has inspired artists, and was associated with
the French state and French society for many years. The movie The Goddess of
1967 has been named after the DS. The movie is about a 1967 DS or goddess
(déesse in French). In the post-World War II environment of the 1950s, the DS
was a significant advertisement for French manufacturing and ingenuity.
President Charles de Gaulle praised the unusual abilities of his unarmored DS
with saving his life during the assassination attempt at Petit-Clamart on 22 August 1962 planned by Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry — the shots had blown two of the
tires, but the car could still escape at full speed. This event was accurately
recreated for The Day of the Jackal. The DS's beloved 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. Le Monde reported on February 2, 2009
that Peugeot Citroën would re-introduce the DS to the car market in 2010. It
has since been revealed that the DS will in fact be a range of, to begin with,
three cars, headed by the small 'DS3'. These cars will be high quality, high
specifications variations on existing models, but with differing mechanics and
bodywork. The DS3, launched in March 2010, is based on Citroen's new C3, but is
more customisable and unique, bearing resemblances to the original DS, with its
'Shark Fin' side pillar. In 2010 and 2011, Citroen will launch the DS4 and DS5,
models to sit above the C4 and C5 ranges respectively. Both are expected to be
more innovative than the DS3, which received mixed feelings from critics and
fans at its launch, and are expected to feature hybrid-diesel engines to
maximise efficiency, as well as other things that have been seen on Citroen's
most recent concept cars.
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This
is a very nice and very rare photo that reflects a wonderful era of Citroën ‘s
automotive history in a wonderful way. This is your rare chance to
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8" x 12" (ca. 20 x 30 cm). It makes it perfectly suitable for framing.
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