Citroen DS

[PerfAdv]

Is the new C6 the successor of Citroen's DS line? A unique interpretation on Luxury. Nice car.

[henk4]

I found one of the oldest survivors at Retromobile this year. The very first cars had a central exhaust. I think it is one of the first 200 or so,

[henk4]

and for all the fans the engines that never made it into the car: the flat six, the V6 and the V8

[DasModell]

such a shame .. a V8 DS

[ds20prefecture]

Hi - thanks for the nice comments about my favourite car. Great shots of the prototype engines -I'd never seen the V8. The 50th anniversary in Paris was something to behold - lots (and lots and lots) of pictures here http://tinyurl.com/8pocq

[henk4]

Hi - thanks for the nice comments about my favourite car. Great shots of the prototype engines -I'd never seen the V8. The 50th anniversary in Paris was something to behold - lots (and lots and lots) of pictures here http://tinyurl.com/8pocq

Hi and welcome to the forum. As a sign of generally increased appreciation for the DS, the Christies auction at Retromobile last weekend saw a Cabrio being sold for 175,000 Euro, which If I am not mistaken is a record figure for any Citroen.

Here it is...

[Spastik_Roach]

I vote that cabrio right there as best looking car of all time! That is an amazing looking DS.

[ds20prefecture]

Hi and welcome to the forum. As a sign of generally increased appreciation for the DS, the Christies auction at Retromobile last weekend saw a Cabrio being sold for 175,000 Euro, which If I am not mistaken is a record figure for any Citroen.

I believe a '61 Chapron went for well over 200,000 recently, but perhaps not at auction.

I bought my '72 DS20 saloon in the Netherlands for almost €9000

[henk4]

I believe a '61 Chapron went for well over 200,000 recently, but perhaps not at auction.

I bought my '72 DS20 saloon in the Netherlands for almost €9000

I have been looking at one for about 7000 some for years ago, it was an elderly restoration but it had not really been kept up to standard. It needed all sorts of smaller amendments. I went to see it with a guy from my Citroen garage and after 10 metres driving in the car he said : No.

9000 would have bought you a very reasonable car, do you use it as a daily driver and does Ireland need extra rust precautions?

[ds20prefecture]

9000 would have bought you a very reasonable car, do you use it as a daily driver and does Ireland need extra rust precautions?

I do use the car daily - 36000km in the last 3 years - and it runs perfectly as a result. She has a couple of minor scrapes, but has no problem turning heads and is a wonderful car to drive. My wife and I drove did 6000km in two weeks across Europe in 2004 - no complaints from the car or the drivers!

Here's a couple of pics -www.cliftonds.com/citroen

Ireland is quite wet, but we have very mild winters and never salt our roads, even when it is icy. I had my car treated in Holland before I got it, and I must say the job was expensive but well worthwhile.

There are a lot of myths about the DS's complexity and unreliability. In my experience this reputation is not deserved. The level of engineering and workmanship in the hydraulic components is astonishing, the engine is bulletproof, and the car generally very well made.

[henk4]

I do use the car daily - 36000km in the last 3 years - and it runs perfectly as a result. She has a couple of minor scrapes, but has no problem turning heads and is a wonderful car to drive. My wife and I drove did 6000km in two weeks across Europe in 2004 - no complaints from the car or the drivers!

Here's a couple of pics

www.cliftonds.com/citroen

Ireland is quite wet, but we have very mild winters and never salt our roads, even when it is icy. I had my car treated in Holland before I got it, and I must say the job was expensive but well worthwhile.

There are a lot of myths about the DS's complexity and unreliability. In my experience this reputation is not deserved. The level of engineering and workmanship in the hydraulic components is astonishing, the engine is bulletproof, and the car generally very well made.

Very nice pics, beautiful stuff at Interlaken. (2CV Motorcycle, and I think a GS birotor there as well)

www.cliftonds.com/citroen

I took the link out so it will open in the post.

Agreed about the reliability of the car. In 20 years of hydropneumatic rides (BX and Xantia) I only had a problem once, when a BX failed to reach proper ride height at the front, just after the warranty period had expired ).

[drakkie]

Very nice pics, beautiful stuff at Interlaken. (2CV Motorcycle, and I think a GS birotor there as well)

www.cliftonds.com/citroen

I took the link out so it will open in the post.

Agreed about the reliability of the car. In 20 years of hydropneumatic rides (BX and Xantia) I only had a problem once, when a BX failed to reach proper ride height at the front, just after the warranty period had expired ).

I just had a ride in a C5 last weekend.I am once again sold for the suspension system !!!What a ride !!! It's a pity no other brand uses it... As a compensation,my dad will likely get a C5 soon,maybe even this week

[DasModell]

the car looks great DS20 ..
i'm hoping that some day i'll own a DS too

[ds20prefecture]

Thanks folks

@Drakkie

Rolls Royce and Mercedes both licensed the Hydropneumatic system from Citroën in the 60s. Rolls used the earlier brake-fluid type fluid, which is hygroscopic and thus more prone to corrosion than the later green fluid (LHM) type. Rolls continued to use the Citroën high pressure braking system until the 90s in Rolls Royce and Bentley cars.

I don't have much info on the Mercedes system.

Maserati also used the hydraulic system extensively when they were owned by Citroën in the seventies. For example - the Bora (easily my favourite Maserati) used it to for the braking system, to adjust the pedals, lift the headlights, and (I think) power the windows.

However no other car used the single system to power so much as the DS. The brakes, clutch, gearchange, steering and suspension are all powered from the one high pressure circuit. The SM used it for its directional lights, but not for clutch or gearchange. Ditto the CX. Later cars (like the C5) maintain separate braking, steering and suspension systems. This is largely due to manufacturing economies of scale: the c5 shares major components with the Peugeot 406/407. What is clever (since the XM) is the active roll control in the later Hydractive systems. Believe it or not, Citroën experimented with this in the 50s with the DS! How's that for advanced
http://www.citroenet.org.uk/miscella...raulics-2.html

[Matra et Alpine]

yeah and ONE failure at night and you can't see where your going, cant steer, can't brake, can't change gear, get stuck on a sleeping policeman. If only they made the doors pnuematic assisted and you'd be stuck inside it too

Making one thing do all isnt' a good idea -- but one no doubt the French engineers almost delivered