Listen to the audio model of the article
Citroën begins the celebrations for the seventieth anniversary of an iconic, legendary and technically cutting-edge automotive: the DS (Deesse, goddess in French to represent the distinctive qualities of a automotive born in 1955 and remained in manufacturing till 25 April 1975. 49 years in the past, in reality, its life cycle ended to make room for its successor: the CX. A profession that ended with nearly 1.4 million models produced. In truth, the mannequin left the Citroën meeting line in Rennes-La Janais number one,330,755 after 4 many years of profession, two generations (with spherical headlights or those who grew to become ellipsoidal), extra economical setups known as ID, with the rear pillar in corrugated sheet metallic, too model known as Pallas (title additionally used on Citroën GS and CX ), a spectacular cabriolet variant and even the Break station wagon, well-known for carrying newspapers. And additionally a nickname: Squalo
The seventieth birthday of the Goddess of the DS falls subsequent yr. The déesse, in French the “goddess” was not solely some of the consultant fashions of the Citroën model, but in addition a automotive that launched substantial technical improvements within the worldwide automotive panorama and which, due to this fact, deserves an sufficient historic research. Let’s due to this fact begin from the thought of designing and constructing a automotive just like the DS, additionally nicknamed by us “shark” which in keeping with these within the know dates again to the top of the thirties, when a attainable substitute for the Traction Avant was beginning to be hypothesized, however in fact at the moment the Traction Avant was nonetheless on the peak of its automotive profession. Perhaps for this reason the mannequin debuted just a little late and solely in 1955 on the Paris Motor Show.
Citroën Ds, hydraulic revolution
Among its distinctive and unbelievable parts for the time: hydropneumatic suspensions that allowed it to journey on three wheels, headlights that adopted curves, 4 disc brakes, energy steering and hydraulic “button” brakes. A masterpiece by Citroën manufactured from superior fluid mechanics with a bodywork with breathtaking model (even right this moment) and ultra-curated aerodynamics.
Citroën Ds, the genesis
From its debut, the DS obtained unanimous approval. Credit should be given to Citroën’s technical director of that period, André Lefebvre and his group. Part of that group have been Paul Mages, who studied the suspensions, Flaminio Bertoni who designed the automotive and Walter Becchia who took care of the engines. The mannequin exhibited for the primary time on the 1955 Paris Motor Show was known as DS 19 and was geared up with a 1900 cc engine able to growing 75 horsepower and reaching a prime velocity of 140 km/h. The automotive aroused nice curiosity as a result of it used revolutionary selections each from a design and mechanical viewpoint. First of all of the aesthetic originalities: the actual aerodynamic bodywork had a decidedly wider entrance monitor than the rear one and a fiberglass roof.
Citroën Ds, the improvements which are nonetheless leading edge
Another innovation was the supplies used for the dashboard and seats, completely unprecedented for these occasions. But a very powerful innovation adopted on the DS was mechanical and anxious the hydropneumatic suspension able to guaranteeing consolation that solely few different vehicles might supply. The system was primarily based on a pump that despatched oil underneath strain to spheres containing nitrogen and a membrane that separated it from the hydraulic circuit. The compressible gasoline labored as a spring, whereas the fluid, which was incompressible, managed the reactions.