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Open door weekend 27-28/04/2024, are you coming too?✨
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The DS is the most beautiful car of the twentieth century, according to many. The "déesse", which means “goddess” in French, was presented at the 1955 Paris Motor Show. During the Paris Motor Show, it was crystal clear that this car would be a great success, 12.000 models were sold only at that show and the following week that amount rose up to 80.000, which was an absolute record. The DS was produced in various bodyworks until 1975. In total, about 1.3 million were delivered.
The DS, known in Spain as the "tiburón", which means “shark”, and in the Netherlands as the "snoek", meaning "pike", to name just two of its many nicknames, was the successor to the already revolutionary Traction Avant. To maintain this revolutionary trend, the DS was designed using countless groundbreaking technologies, it is almost impossible to list them all. Let’s. Citroën moved away from mechanics and chose for more hydraulics: the hydraulic suspension provides a wonderful driving comfort that perfectly meets the post-war road condition, and to make the most efficient use of combustion in the engine, they designed a hydraulically operated single-plate clutch, which prevents power loss when clutching. This clutch had to be handled with a lever on the steering wheel. In addition, the single-spoke steering wheel significantly increased safety. The DS was the first mass-produced car with disc brakes on the front wheels, which also improved safety. It was the first car with fuel lines made of plastic, and the dashboard was entirely made of plastic, at the time the largest industrially manufactured piece of plastic ever. The front of the car was built so that the steering gear centreline coincided with the centreline of the wheel, ensuring that the car can continue to accelerate and drive straight even with a flat tire. Even the lighting was groundbreaking: the headlights turned with the turning of the steering wheel so that the driver could quickly anticipate on sinuous roads at night. But that is not all: the window frames are designed to be so thin that there is no longer any blind spot, the roof was made of very light fiberglass to lower the centre of gravity even further, and the engine is located behind the front axle, making it a mid-engine car. A mid-engine design improves road grip, and manoeuvrability.
The user-friendliness of the DS was anything but conventional due to numerous new features, which is why the car was sometimes considered too revolutionary and mainly sought after by early innovators. To reach a larger audience that was scared off by high technology, Citroën introduced the ID in 1956. The ID was a cheaper and more conservative DS with a higher average level and less sophistication.
Citroen DS Pallas
The post-war 1950s were over and the 1960s were craving luxury. In 1964, Citroën introduced a luxurious variant of the DS: the Pallas. 'Déesse' (DS) meant goddess, Pallas is the Greek goddess of wisdom, civilization, and political community. Literally translated from Greek, the name means 'she who wields the spear'.
The Pallas had more comfortable seats with cushions in which you wanted to sink, a better audio system, better insulation, and a very refined finish. Under the hood is a 2.3L four-cylinder engine that produces 141 horsepower and reaches a top speed of 188 km/h. Today, Citroën still produce their luxury cars since 2015 in a series named after this icon, as a tribute.
The DS is far from being forgotten, on the contrary, both the classic DS and the DS Pallas are becoming rarer and seem to be a rewarding investment.
Technical information:
Body work
Mechanics
Top speed: 188 km/h (117 mph