DESIGN ICONS | DESIGN
Citroën DS: A ‘goddess’ of a car

By Jonathan Glancey
2nd October 2014

Beloved of philosophers and presidents alike, the Citroën DS caused a sensation when it was launched in 1955. Jonathan Glancey tells the story of a French icon.

This week, the Divine DS concept car is launched at the Paris Motor Show. DS are letters that spell “Citroën”, as well as Deese – or goddess – loud and clear, and have done so since the mid-1950s when the legendary Citroen DS, one of the most stylish and influential cars ever built, made its debut at the Salon de Paris on 5 October 1955.

The Divine DS is certainly luxurious, assuming your idea of luxury stretches to an interior laced with Lesage embroidery, Swarovski crystals, switches decorated with gemstones and more digital gizmos on display than you can find in an Apple store. This is clearly a car for new markets, notably China and south-east Asia. From an engineering point of view it offers little new: the Divine is mostly about fashion, ambience and, it has to be said, bling.

{snip}

When it was revealed to the public in 1955, the Citroën DS was truly sensational. A seamless fusion of innovative engineering, new materials and imaginative design, it caught the mood of the time. Citroen took 12,000 orders on the first day of the Paris show. At a time when France was struggling back towards la vie quotidienne, here was a futuristic and utterly French design that made people proud.

{snip}

From the Camera of Alex Tremulis: The 1955 Paris Motor Show

12/9/20

Take a walk through the crowded aisles of the 1955 Paris Motor Show with Alex Tremulis. Held the first week in October, his rare color Ektachrome Transparencies capture the details of some of the most revolutionary cars the automotive styling world had seen to date. These photos, taken by Alex Tremulis while he was head of Ford's Advanced Design Studio, represent the styling cues that captured his attention and would influence the design of Ford's future models in one form or another for many years to come. Cleaning the once-airborne tar and nicotine off all the fresh paint was surely a daily ritual...

Citroen DS

Citroen DS

Citroen DS

Citroen DS

1956 Citroen DS 19 at the Paris Motor Show (October 1955)
1,340 views • May 10, 2018

The Wheel Network
298K subscribers

42e Salon de Paris 1955
24,742 views • Oct 28, 2012

MLSLAL
428 subscribers

Isetta, Renault Grand Pavoi et Frégate, Simca Aronde, simcamatic, Peugeot 403, Talbot 2.5 lit, Citroën DS... autant de noms qui sont évoqués dans ce reportage croustillant avec commentaires d'époque. Régalez-vous.

www.ActuAuto.TV


210 17-650824

{snip}

Citroën DS



The Citroën DS (French pronunciation: [si.tʁɔ.ɛn de.ɛs]) is a front mid-engined, front-wheel drive executive car manufactured and marketed by Citroën from 1955 to 1975, in fastback/sedan, wagon/estate, and convertible body configurations, across three series of one generation.

Marketed with a less expensive variant, the Citroën ID, the DS was known for its aerodynamic, futuristic body design; unorthodox, quirky, and innovative technology, and it set new standards in ride quality, handling, and braking, thanks to both being the first mass production car equipped with hydropneumatic suspension, as well as disc brakes. The 1967 series 3 also introduced directional headlights to a mass-produced car.

Italian sculptor and industrial designer Flaminio Bertoni and the French aeronautical engineer André Lefèbvre styled and engineered the car, and Paul Magès developed the hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension. Robert Opron designed the 1967 Series 3 facelift. Citroën built 1,455,746 examples in six countries, of which 1,330,755 manufactured at Citroën's main Paris Quai de Javel (now Quai André-Citroën) production plant.

In combination with Citroën's proven front-wheel drive, the DS was used competitively in rally racing during almost its entire 20‑year production run, and achieved multiple major victories, as early as 1959, and as late as 1974. It placed third in the 1999 Car of the Century poll recognizing the world's most influential auto designs and was named the most beautiful car of all time by Classic & Sports Car magazine.

The name DS and ID are puns in the French language. "DS" is pronounced exactly like déesse, lit. 'goddess', whereas "ID" is pronounced as idée ('idea').

{snip}

Model history



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. During the 10 days of the show, the DS took in 80,000 deposits; a record that stood for over 60 years, until it was eclipsed by the Tesla Model 3 which received 180,000 first day deposits in March 2016. The original list price for a 1959 ID19 was US$2,833 ($26,335 in 2021 dollars {and $28,440 in 2022 dollars}).

{snip}