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70 years of Citroën DS - Floating proceedings

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Created on July 23, 2025

Text:

Gerhard Schütz

Photos:

Archiv Gerhard Schütz

On the podium at the Paris Motor Show in October 1955: distance arouses desire, 12,000 pre-orders on the first day

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Revolutionary concept in perspective (error in the floor plan, because the half shafts should be angled slightly backwards)

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6-cylinder boxer engine in front of the front axle

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Unfortunately there is no photograph of the boxer engine in the prototype, only this drawing from an investigative newspaper

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Motor-transmission unit with internal disc brakes

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The pivot axle in the center of the wheel prevents turning forces on the steering in the event of air loss

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Cooling air intake and cooling for internal disc brakes under the bumper

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Monocoque steel body of the Traction: the principle of drive mounting in a front chassis "fork" was adopted for the DS

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Voisin C6: Revolutionary racing car by Lefebvre, 1923. The engine visibly gets in the way of the aerodynamics

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Voisin C6: The rear is tapered like the DS, but here so much so that the narrow rear axle did not need a differential

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Audi Jaray: Aerodynamic, but unpopular. Top speed is 110 km/h instead of 85 as with the conventional base model

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Last-minute solution: the blinker "nozzles"

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Safety: Can also be driven on three wheels thanks to hydropneumatics and front loading

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6-cylinder boxer: Unfortunately too weak and too expensive

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A practical innovation: interchangeable body elements

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Bertoni designs and modern graphic realizations. All still show cambered surfaces around the wheels

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Aerodynamics first: Lefebvre even tested a rear wing for braking in the sixties

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Summary

The Citroën DS became a car of the century, which soon had a large clientele behind it and which can still count on a large number of loyal and enthusiastic owners today. The car was and is something unique and is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. Let's take a look back at the design and technology and follow its complex development.

This article contains the following chapters

The Traction and the DS
The design
Chassis and bodywork
The creators of the DS
Paul Magès, the magician of hydraulics
André Lefebvre, the spiritus rector
Walter Becchia
Flaminio Bertoni
The hydropneumatics and the suspension
Hydraulic steering
The hydraulic brake
The semi-automatic transmission
The engine

Estimated reading time: 23min

Preview (beginning of the article)

History is in a difficult position today. It has practically been abolished in elementary school and the number of history students at universities is falling dramatically. We are increasingly living in an age that has forgotten history. So it is encouraging that at least the niche of automotive history is alive and well - and how! One anniversary follows the next, whether 50 or 70 or even 75 years, but the really big anniversaries like 100 years are too rare. "The DS is not the car of the future, it's just the car of today. And the other cars are... from yesterday." Alexander Spoerl

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