9781422285169

Citroën DS

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The Citroën DS was first unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in October 1955. Styled by Italian designer Flaminio Bertoni, Citroën received nearly 12,000 orders for the car by the end of the show. The DS was produced between 1955 and 1975, selling almost 1.5 million models over this time. The DS proved to be a symbol of French ingenuity and defied most of the automotive designs of the time. Many people seemed to believe it came from another planet, due to its looks, hydraulic suspension and dashboard layout. A number of different versions of the DS were introduced during the early years of its production. The ID was a stripped out version, which was introduced in October 1956. It had, no power steering, power braking or semi-automatic hydraulic gearbox. Two years later, in 1958, Citroën released the Break (Station Wagon). Its extended chassis created

1970. Citroën was unsure whether they could maintain the same bold standard in their future models. The DS remained popular throughout its production run. However, at the beginning of the 1970s it was starting to show its age and began to seem a little old fashioned. The DS was finally phased out in late 1975 and was replaced by the CX range of family and executive cars. Despite this, the DS still held a beloved place in French society and on 9 October 2005, Citroën celebrated the cars 50 th anniversary by driving 1,600 DSs in procession past the Arc de Triomphe.

more room inside, allowing up to seven people to sit comfortably. A number of companies also worked on creating various styling changes for the DS. The most famous of these was the French automotive coachbuilder Henri Chapron. He started by building one-off conversions before being asked to help build the factory cabriolets as well as a number of special orders for luxury DSs. The DS helped push the Citroën brand to a whole new level of success. It caused such a big sensation that no new models were introduced from 1955 until

Should the situation ever necessitate it, a DS can safely be driven on three wheels.