The avant-garde DS is 70 years old!
A masterpiece of innovation and the art of French travel, the Citroën DS is celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2025 and L'Aventure will accompany the DS Automobiles brand at Rétromobile to celebrate this anniversary by exhibiting 5* of the 20 DS and ID preserved and maintained in its collections.
An icon is born
Launched in 1938 at the initiative of Pierre Boulanger in order to eventually replace the Traction Avant, the VGD project only came to fruition 17 years later with the release of the DS 19 in October 1955. Three men were particularly involved in its study and its focus. André Lefèbvre, an aeronautical engineer by training, is a fervent supporter of front-wheel drive, but also of aerodynamics, lightness and weight centering. Paul Magès, self-taught engineer, is the creator of hydraulics. He invented the famous hydropneumatic suspension, but also hydraulic assistance for the steering, clutch release and braking of the DS. Finally, the Italian Flaminio Bertoni, talented stylist, sculptor and painter, with his team of designers, gave the DS its lines that were as revolutionary as they were elegant.
On October 6t, 1955, the DS 19 was presented for the first time on the Citroën stand at the Paris Motor Show. It arouses both astonishment and admiration. Visitors and journalists are literally under the spell of its avant-garde lines.
The DS is a true concentrate of high technology. For example, its hydropneumatic suspension provides it with handling and comfort that no other automobile had previously experienced. Another unique safety feature is its extremely powerful hydraulically assisted braking.
From its beginnings, the DS 19 enjoyed a truly international career since it was assembled in Great Britain as well as in Belgium from 1956, then in South Africa from 1959. It was exported throughout Western Europe, in almost all Commonwealth countries including Canada and Australia, as well as in the United States where it has many unconditional fans.
Its different versions and improvements
During the 1950s, several versions were released. First there was the ID 19 presented in October 1956, then the station wagon versions in 1958, at the same time as the DS 19 Prestige. Henri Chapron was also entrusted with the study and production of the DS factory convertible. After the creation of three prototypes, the presentation took place at the Paris Motor Show in 1960. This Cabriolet still remains today an essential reference in automotive aesthetics and refinement.
In March 1961, the DS underwent its first mechanical evolution. Its engine power increased from 75 to 83 hp, giving it a top speed of 150 km/h! In 1962, the DS underwent the first modification to its front end, it lost its grilles on the wings, the bumper received two arrowhead rubber bumpers and the lower shield was redesigned. This modification also improves aerodynamics, allowing it to reduce its consumption and reach 160 km/h. The year 1967 saw the new face of the DS which, in addition to a unanimously acclaimed aesthetic success, brought something new in terms of safety with the standard fitting on the high-end Prestige, Pallas and Cabriolet versions of the famous additional pivoting headlights. The DS thus lights up the inside of the curves before even entering them!
In 1968, the Presidency of the Republic ordered a new ceremonial car for the Élysée. Its specifications provided that it had to be longer than the Lincoln then used by the President of the United States. Built and fitted out by the coachbuilder Henri Chapron, this unique DS measures 6.53 meters and receives the most luxurious equipment with curved and inclined partition window, folding seat for the interpreter, electric windows, air conditioning, direct and indirect lighting, intercom, mini-bar…
Before bowing out definitively in July 1975, after 20 years of an exemplary career, the DS underwent a final evolution when the DS 21 was replaced by the DS 23 in September 1972. This last model received a 2,347 cm3 engine which , with electronic fuel injection, delivers 130 hp din for a maximum speed of nearly 190 km/h.
Victories at Monte-Carlo
In January 1956, the DS 19 took the start of the most prestigious rally for the first time. Seventh overall, it also and above all ranks first in the from 1,300 to 2,000 cm3 cars category, and the six cars entered all finished. In 1959, the Coltelloni-Alexandre-Desrosiers crew led the ID 19 to first place in the general classification. The same year, Citroën won the Manufacturers’ Cup. Over the years, there followed a whole series of particularly admirable places of honor. In 1966, the DS 21 won the supreme victory on Monegasque soil with the performance of the Finnish crew Pauli Toivonen-Ensio Mikander.
A great road car, the DS also stands out as a formidable sports car!
* The DS and ID of L’Aventure at Rétromobile
In Hall 1 with the Brand: 1960 ID 19 Confort / 1967 DS 21 Pallas semi-open accessible to visitors / 1972 DS 21 Prestige / 1974 DS 23 ie Pallas
In Hall 3 on the L’Aventure stand with the Euro SM Club: “Ronde Hivernale de Chamonix” DS 21 with V6 Maserati engine
