Citroën DS 19

A revolution in both design and engineering. At its launch in 1955, the Citroen DS goes directly against all design conventions and instantly attains iconic status.

A revolution in both design and engineering. When it is introduced in 1955, the Citroen DS goes directly against all design conventions and instantly acquires iconic status. Technically, too, the car is highly advanced, with its front wheel drive, hydropneumatic suspension system and the hydraulic operation of brakes, clutch, transmission and steering. It is also the first mass production car to be fitted with disc brakes. Braking, incidentally, is not done with a pedal, but with a sort of pad on the floor, popularly called the mushroom. For people who are not used to this, it is somewhat difficult to modulate the braking force. Remarkable is the polyester roof on the early models like this one. It was used to save weight. The most luxurious version of the DS is called Pallas. In 1956 a simpler version comes onto the market, the ID. In 1968 the front of the DS is heavily redesigned and, among other things, headlights that turn with the steering are introduced. Production of the Citroen DS, which in the Netherlands has nicknames such as the pike and the iron, ends in 1975. By then around 1.5 million examples have been built. Ironically, only a few people know the name of the designer of the Citroen DS. It is the Italian Flaminio Bertoni, then chief designer at Citroen.