A superb and rare photo of the magnificent Citroën DS , as photographed for the publicity campaign that
Citroën launched for the new model
year.
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 customizable 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 maximize efficiency, as well as other things that have been seen on
Citroen's most recent concept cars.
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
own this photo, therefore it is printed in a nice large format of ca.
8" x 10" (ca. 20 x 26 cm). It
makes it perfectly suitable for framing.
Shipping costs will only be $ 7.00 regardless of how many photos you
buy. For 5 or more photos, shipping is free!
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They make the perfect gift and are perfectly suited for framing. They will look gorgeous unframed and will be a true asset nicely framed with a border. They are a gorgeous and great asset in every home, workshop, workplace, restaurant, bar or club!
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