Citroen DS
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The Citroën DS (also known as Déesse, or Goddess, after the punning initials in French) was an automobile produced by the French manufacturer Citroën between 1955 and 1975. Citroën sold nearly 1.5 million D-series during its 20 years of production.The DS is well-known for its futuristic, aerodynamic body design, and for its innovative technology (including its hydropneumatic self-leveling suspension system).
The DS advanced the achievable standards in terms of ride quality, roadholding, handling, and braking in an automobile. Automotive journalists of the time often noted that competitors took decades to adapt to the higher standards it set. The smooth, aerodynamic body lines gave the car a futuristic appearance. While it looked very unusual in 1955, public tastes appear to have caught up with the DS in the post-Ford Taurus/Audi 100 era.
Model history
After 18 years of development in secret as the successor to the venerable Traction Avant, the DS 19 was introduced on October 5, 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. 743 orders were taken in the first 15 minutes of the show, 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.
The high price tag, however, hurt general sales in a country still recovering from World War II 10 years earlier, and a submodel, the ID (another pun: in French, Idée, or Idea), was introduced in 1957 to appeal to more cost-conscious buyers. The ID shared the same body with the DS, but had more traditional features under the hood. It had no power steering (though this was added as an option later), and instead of the hydraulically controlled manual transmission and clutch, it had a conventional clutch and transmission. Interestingly, the first model series was called 11D, a clear reminder of the last model of the Traction Avant, the 11C. A station wagon variant, the ID Break, was introduced in 1958.
Throughout its model lifetime, the DS managed to remain ahead of its time. It featured power disc brakes, a hydropneumatic suspension including an automatic levelling system and variable ground clearance, power steering and a semi-automatic transmission. A fiberglass roof reduced weight transfer. Inboard front brakes (as well as an independent suspension) reduced unsprung weight. Different front and rear track widths and tire sizes reduced the understeer typical of front-engined and front-wheel drive cars.
Despite the rather leisurely acceleration afforded by its four-cylinder engine, the DS was successful in motorsports like rallying, where sustained speeds on poor surfaces are paramount.
The DS came in third in the international poll for the award of the world's most influential car of the twentieth century, behind the Ford Model T and the Mini. It placed fifth on Automobile Magazine "100 Coolest Cars" listing.
History will remember the DS for many reasons, including the fact it was the first production car with front disc brakes.
Technical details
Drivetrain
For such a modern car, the engine of the original DS 19 was very 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 and a stroke of 100 mm, 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 at 3800 rpm; by contrast, the DS 19 had an aluminium cross-flow head with hemispherical combustion chambers and generated 75 hp 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. It initially had a four-speed manual transmission and a hydraulic clutch. This is sometimes incorrectly referred to as a semi-automatic; in fact, the transmission and clutch themselves were identical to the units first introduced with the ID19. The only difference was the means of control. Later a five-speed manual was introduced, which replaced the original four-speed unit.
Hydraulic system
The hydraulic system of the DS 19 was a revolution. Previously hydraulics had been restricted to use in brakes and power steering; the DS used them for the suspension, clutch and transmission.Suspension
The most remarkable aspect of the hydraulic system was its use in the car's suspension system. Each wheel was 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
- a damper valve between the piston and the sphere
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, it maintained a constant height. 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.
- Two extreme positions for changing wheels.
Source and reserve of pressure
The central part of the hydraulic system was the high pressure reservoir, which maintained a pressure of between 130 and 150 atm in two accumulators. These accumulators were very similar in construction to the suspension spheres. One was dedicated to the brakes, and the other ran the other hydraulic systems. Thus in case of a hydraulic failure (a surprisingly infrequent occurrence), the first indication would be that the steering became heavy, followed by the gearbox not working; only later would the brakes fail.Hydraulic fluid
The original hydropneumatic system used a vegetable oil (LHV or liquide hydraulique végétale) similar to that used in other cars at the time. Very soon, Citroen changed to using a synthetic fluid (LHS or liquide hydraulique synthétique). Both of these had the disadvantage that the hydraulic components were subject to relatively rapid deterioration, requiring expensive maintenance work. In August 1967, Citroen introduced a new mineral-based fluid LHM, or liquide hydraulique minérale. This fluid was much less aggressive on the system, and it remains in use to the present day. It required completely different materials for the seals, however. Using either fluid in the incorrect system would completely destroy the hydraulic seals very quickly. To help avoid this problem, Citroen added a bright green dye to the LHM fluid and also painted all hydraulic elements bright green.Several different hydraulic pumps were used. The original one was a seven-cylinder eccentric pump driven off two belts and delivering 175 atm of pressure. The ID19, with its simpler hydraulic system, used a single cylinder pump.
Gearbox and clutch
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 consisted of:
- Hydraulic gear selector.
- Clutch control. This was the most complicated part. 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 carburettor (i.e. the position of the accelerator)
- *The brake circuit: when the brakes were pressed, the clutch disengaged at a higher rpm, thus preventing friction while stopped in gear at traffic lights
Impact on Citroën brand development
The 1955 DS in one stroke cemented the Citroën brand name as an automotive innovator. In fact, the DS caused such a huge sensation that Citroen was fearful future models would not be bold enough. Other than variations on the Citroen 2CV, like the Citroën Ami, no new models were introduced from 1955 to 1970. Citroën thus was not involved in the largest, most profitable segment of the European market. This was similar to the position of BMW, with a huge gap between the Isetta and 507 in the 1950's.Citroën developed many new vehicles for the segment occupied by the Peugeot 403, Renault 16 and Ford Cortina, but these were considered ordinary "me too" cars, not up to the company's high standard of innovation and were never actually produced. Because Citroën was owned by Michelin as a sort of research laboratory, such experimentation was possible. Citroen finally introduced the clever Citroën GS in 1970, which sold a spectacular 2.5 million units.
Replacing the DS
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 gear shifter, 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 Citroën SM, which was a thoroughly modernized, slightly larger, version of the DS.
The SM had to fulfill another purpose beyond just upgrading the DS however - it also had to launch Citroën into a new Grand Touring market segment. This meant that the SM was not designed to be a practical 4-door sedan 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 sedan, not as unique models - a comtemporary example being the Mercedes-Benz 450SLC. The SM's high price, driven by the Maserati engine, and limited utility of the 2+2 configuration, meant the SM as actually produced could not seize the mantle from the DS.
The DS was finally phased out in 1975 (sedan) and 1976 (station wagon) after 1,455,746 cars were produced. The DS was replaced by the then-new, smaller CX sedan.
DS in the US
While the DS was a hit in Europe, it seemed rather odd in the US. Ostensibly a luxurious car, it didn't have the basic features that Americans of that era expected to find on such a vehicle - fully automatic transmission, air conditioning, power windows, and a reasonably powerful engine. Also, Americans at the time wanted to only search for the newest models, which changed every year, like fashion, yet for Americans the DS appeared vaguely derivative of the 1950 Hudson Hornet step-down design. Outdated US legislation also banned some of the car's more advanced features, such as the LHM hydraulic mineral fluid and the aerodynamic headlights, both now common in US automobiles. Ultimately, 38,000 units were sold.Design variations
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, while Citroen Australia used the term Safari and Station-Wagon).
In September 1962, the DS was restyled with a more aerodynamically efficient nose, better ventilation and other improvements. It retained the open two headlight 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, leather upholstery and external trim embellishments.
In 1967, the DS and ID was again restyled. This version had a more streamlined headlight 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.
This feature was not allowed in the USA at the time, so 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 in all markets (except the US) to the technically superior LHM (Liquide Hydraulique Minérale).
Rarest and most collectible 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. In addition, Chapron also produced a few coupés, non-works convertibles and special sedans (DS Lorraine for instance).
DS engines
The DS and ID powerplants evolved throughout its 20 year production life. A Flat-6 based on the design of the 2CV flat-twin was originally proposed during design but abandoned due to numerous problems. 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 DS19 was replaced in 1965 with the 1985 cc 5 bearing motor of the DS19a (called DS20 from Sept 1969). The DS21 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 DS23 in both carbureted and fuel injected forms.IDs and their variants went through a similar evolution, generally lagging the DS by about one year. ID models never received the DS23 engine or fuel injection. The DS was offered with a number of transmission options, including the "Hydraulique" 4-speed semi-automatic, 4-speed and 5-speed manuals and a 3-speed Borg-Warner full-automatic. The full-automatic transmissions were inteneded for the American market, but as Citroen withdrew from the US in 1972 due to constrictive road rules and taxes on imported cars, most automatic DSs, being the DS23 EFI sedans with air conditioning, were sold in Australia. Australia constructed their own D variant in the 1960s, these being identified as the ID19 "Parisiene" and when they received the imported base model DSpecial from the 1970s, Australian market cars were all fitted with options as standard equipment that were never available on domestic European models.
DS in popular culture
To a France still deep in reconstruction after the devastation of World War II, and struggling to find its identity in the post-colonial world, the DS was a symbol of French ingenuity. More importantly, it posited the nation's relevance in the Space Age, as the car bore a remarkable resemblance to images of flying saucers just then becoming famous. Something noticeable in Back to the Future II where the DS is used as a futuristic taxi.Structuralist philosopher Roland Barthes, in an essay about the car, said that it looked as if it had "fallen from the sky". [link]
The DS was adopted as the official car for the French government for a number of uses – as police cars, as ambulances (in the station-wagon form), and even as limousines for the nation's highest officials. President Charles de Gaulle was a big fan of the DS, and used one for all official functions. He survived an assassination attempt on 22 August, 1962 (a machine gun ambush by the Organisation de l'Armée Secrète - OAS) because the DS he was onboard was able to go as smoothly on a bad road while one rear tire was out, thanks to its hydropneumatic suspension. This event was recreated in the 1973 film The Day of the Jackal.
Other famous owners of the DS include actor Alec Guinness, painter Marc Chagall, Pope John XXIII, rock musician Brian Johnson, historian the 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu, guitarist Carlos Santana, and actress Brigitte Bardot.
Outside of France, the car's radical and cosmopolitan design appealed to non-conformists. A United States advertisement summarised this selling point: "It takes a special person to drive a special car".
The DS's beloved place in French society was demonstrated by a celebration of the 50th anniversary of its launch in Paris on October 9 2005, in which 1,600 DSs drove in procession past the Arc de Triomphe. [link]
"Sharknose" is perhaps the most common nickname in English, but refers only to post-1967 models. The Dutch know the DS as the snoek, in English pike - a long thin fish, while the Portuguese have nicknamed it "Boca de Sapo" or frog's mouth, a reference to the headlights as eyes and the hood as the mouth in early models. To the Swedes, it is "Paddan" i. e. 'the toad'.
Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco was one of the many artists inspired by the DS - he created a "thin DS" sculpture by slicing the car into three sections lengthwise. Then, after removing the central piece, he reattached the side panels creating an [arrow-like car]. The doors and trunk opened, though it was now a sculpture, no longer a drivable car.
The Belgian cartoonist Franquin used several models of Citroën in his comics. The DS is seen in the album "Z comme Zorglub" printed in 1959.
The DS won the Monte Carlo Rally in 1959 and 1966.
DS in film and television
The Citroen DS is seen in many films and television shows, notably:- The Day of the Jackal from 1973 features the reenactment of one of the famous moments in French history, the failed 1962 assassination attempt on De Gaulle in his DS (historical accuracy is not completely perfect, since the film is a 'car movie' and was made ten years later in the streets of Paris, full of new cars. De Gaulle himself is in a 1963 model). In the actual incident, the shots had blown two of the tires, but the car could still escape at high speed.
- The DS plays a major role in Scarface, where the character played by Al Pacino refuses to ignite a car bomb attached to a DS traversing New York City.
- Cold Fever from 1995 is a road trip across Iceland in a DS.
- The Goddess of 1967 (2000), directed by Clara Law, is about a young Japanese man from Tokyo who travels to Australia to buy a 1967 DS and ends up taking a road trip across the Outback in the car.
- Fantômas – A 1964 film about a fictional French master criminal.
- Le Samourai – Alain Delon's hitman character carried a large ring of keys that enabled him to steal any DS he encountered.
- Novocaine (2001) – Steve Martin's character, Dr Frank Sangster DDS, drives a Euro-spec DS in what appears to be the current day suburbs of Chicago.
- Sam Shepard and Julie Delpy take a langourous, beautifully photographed drive from Paris to Rome in a 1960 DS, in Volker Schlöndorff's 1991 film "The Voyager (Homo Faber)."
- Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985) involves a Francophile and ends in a drive-in movie with a DS convertible.
- Wonder Boys – in the 1995 book by Michael Chabon, Sara Gaskell (the pregnant, adulterous college chancellor) drives a rare cherry-red convertible DS; in Curtis Hanson and Steve Kloves’s 2000 film adaptation the character played by Frances McDormand drives a more prosaic white 4 door sedan; the car develops directional headlights in the last scene with Michael Douglas.
- The policemen in the 1977 American TV series "CHiPs" notice a DS driving on three wheels on the highway.
- Peter Graves drives a silver 1966 DS21H Pallas in an off-road car chase in "Morocco" - American TV series [[Mission:Impossible]]
- I ♥ Huckabees – Dustin Hoffman's character drives one.
- Munich – In the 2006 Steven Spielberg film, the DS owned by the informant Louis is prominently featured.
- In Back to the Future II, the DS is used as a taxi from the distant future.
- In the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series, Buffy's mentor Giles owns a Citroën DS. In one episode, it is crashed (presumably totalled) as they are trying to escape from evil beings.
- In the dutch movie 'Zoeken naar Eileen', a DS is totaly crashed in a tunnel.
- Invisible Waves – in Pen-Ek Ratanaruang's 2006 film, a black DS is featured prominently in the scenes shot in Phuket, Thailand.
- In Life Aquatic, as Team Zissou lands on the island to storm the Hotel Citroën, a dishevelled 1956 DS can be seen in the distance on the beach.
- Christopher Lee's villain is chauffeur-driven in a black DS in 1978's Return from Witch Mountain.
- The DS can also be seen in Crooklyn, Simone, Sliding Doors, The Green Berets, Ali, [[Team America: World Police]], Bandits, Real Genius, Gattaca, Catch Me if You Can, The Odessa File, CQ, French Kiss, The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob, The Protectors, Mr Jolly Lives Next Door, Jack the Bear, National Lampoon's European Vacation, Lord of War and The Da Vinci Code.
- Duncan MacLeod from the television series Highlander: The Series drives a DS whenever he is in France.
- In Mel Brookes's original cinema version of The Producers, a black DS or ID delivers socialites to the premiére of Springtime for Hitler.
- A DS or ID is used to transport Vietnamese Army officials to a field camp in a flashback scene in Spy Game.
External links
- [DS links Citroën World]
- [Citroen D Series at Citroenet]
- [Citroën Battle]
- [DS on the ROAD!]
- [Directional headlights in motion]
- [P CITROËN DS]
- [DS district CitCity]
- [Citroën DS photo pool on Flickr]
- [La D.S. by Orozco]
- [1965 Citroën DS TV commercial]
- [TopGear road test of Citroën DS]
- [Informative fan-site detailing the history and model evolution of the DS/ID]
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