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Citroën C1 Goutte d'eau in 1953 – prototype in teardrop shape

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Created on July 31, 2025

Text:

Gerhard Schütz

Photos:

Archiv Gerhard Schütz

11

Archiv Gerhard Schütz

11

Citroën C1 Goutte d'eau (1953) - The model shows a complex curved windshield

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Citroën C1 Goutte d'eau (1953) - Lefèbvre's Voisin C6 1923 sends its regards: Wide track at the front, very narrow at the rear. The longitudinal fin on the roof was omitted from the prototype

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Citroën C1 Goutte d'eau (1953) - Perfect teardrop shape

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Citroën C1 Goutte d'eau (1953) - More or less practical entry. The cut-out for the fold-down windshield is clearly visible. The trunk lid is missing

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Citroën C1 Goutte d'eau (1953) - No, this is not a Mercedes 300 SL, but a 4 plus 2-seater

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Citroën C1 Goutte d'eau (1953) - Lower half of the shell: Chassis. Upper half: body. The luggage compartment flaps are still missing

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Citroën C1 Goutte d'eau (1953) - A later version with a more angular design

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Citroën C1 Goutte d'eau (1953) - Relatively wide front track, swing axle

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Citroën C1 Goutte d'eau (1953) - Rerouting of the steering linkage due to the position of the seats

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Citroën C1 Goutte d'eau (1953) - Good use of space with a wheelbase of 2.45 m and a length of only 3.84 m

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Citroën C1 Goutte d'eau (1953) - The drive unit on an auxiliary chassis (under the front seats) from above. Sophisticated cooling air routing behind the fan. Internal brakes, complex steering linkage

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Summary

In 1955, 70 years ago, the Citroën DS, a revolutionary car, was presented in Paris. It was the product of a creative corporate culture, as practiced in Citroën's "think tank", the "Bureau d'études". Many innovative ideas were created there away from the public eye and remain little known to this day. The C1 "Goutte d'eau" (drop of water) presented here is a particularly interesting example of this.

This article contains the following chapters

Innovation instead of tradition
Old technology in a new guise
Sophisticated chassis
Interior concept
Balance sheet

Estimated reading time: 3min

Preview (beginning of the article)

In 1955, 70 years ago, the Citroën DS, a revolutionary car, was presented in Paris. It was the product of a creative corporate culture, as practiced in Citroën's "think tank", the "Bureau d'études". Many innovative ideas were created there away from the public eye and have remained little known to this day. The C1 "Goutte d'eau" (drop of water) is a particularly interesting example of this. The aerodynamic car is a story of joys and sorrows: Joys of flowing, aesthetic forms and decades of suffering of commercial unsuccessfulness. The proportions of the classic front-engine layout with its long, imposing (but often half-empty) hoods had become too much a part of the collective consciousness - or rather, subconscious. Rational approaches had a hard time in the prestige-driven car business. For decades, functional shapes such as cubic concepts for good use of space or aerodynamic bodies for low fuel consumption found little resonance in the market.

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