Launched in 1955 yet looking like a sci-fi design proposal for a
future then undreamed of, Flaminio Bertoni's ellipsoid sculpture
with wheels that was the Citroen DS stunned the world. There was a
near riot at the 1955 Paris Motor Show launch of the car, orders
flooded in for this, the new 'big Citroen' (a Voiture a Grande
Diffusion or VGD) as the car that replaced the legendary Traction
Avant range. The term 'DS' stems from two Citroen parts of
nomenclature - the type of engine used as the 11D, (D) and the
special hemispherical design of the cylinder head as 'Culasse
Special' (S): DS out of 'Deesse' or Goddess, was a more popular
myth of ' DS' origination, but an erroneous one. But it was not
just the car's aerodynamically advanced body shape (Cd. 0.37) that
framed the genius of the DS: hydro pneumatic self-levelling
suspension, advanced plastics and synthetics for the construction
of the roof and dashboard/fascia, and amazing road holding and
cabin comfort were some of this car's highlights. Only the lack of
an advanced new engine was deemed a missed opportunity. In fact
Citroen had created a new engine for the car but lacked the
resources to produce it in time for 1955. DS was a major moment in
the history of car design, one so advanced that it would take other
auto manufacturers years to embrace. Yet DS in its 'aero' design
was the precursor to today's low drag cars of curved form.
Manufactured worldwide, used by presidents, leaders, diplomats,
farmers and many types of people, the DS redefined Citroen, its
engineering and design language, and its brand, for decades to
come. Prone to rust, not the safest car in the world, and always
lacking a smoother powerplant, the DS still became an icon of car
design. Reshaped with a new nose and faired-in headlamps in 1967,
DS remained in production until 1975. Across its life DS spawned an
estate car variant as the 'Safari', a range of limousines, two-door
convertibles, and even coach-built coupes and rally specials. This
car was a product design that became an article of social science -
it was that famous and it defined a European design movement upon a
global stage then packed with 'me too' copyist designs. The DS or
'Goddess' as it was tagged, was a tear-drop shaped act of French
confidence in a world of the regurgitation of the known. Some argue
that DS and its effect has never been surpassed. This new
value-for-money book provides innovative access to the design,
history, and modelling of the revolutionary DS - one of the true
'greats' of motoring history and, a contemporary classic car of
huge popularity.
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