Thursday, February 3, 2011

1959 Citroën DS


Undoubtedly the most famous French car of the post-war period - the most famous pre-war French car being the Citroën Traction Avant - the Citroën DS was produced between 1955 and 1975. Styled by Italian sculptor and industrial designer Flaminio Bertoni and the French aeronautical engineer André Lefèbvre, the DS was known for its aerodynamic body design and innovative technology, including a hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension. Publicity film of the time showed the car running level with one wheel removed.

A total of 1,455,746 D-series were sold during the model's 20-year production run. The DS came in third in the 1999 Car of the Century competition (after the Ford Model T and the Mini), recognizing the world's most influential auto designs, and Classic & Sports Car magazine went so far as to name it the most beautiful car of all time. A new DS3 was released last March, a post about that will be made later.

The publicity photos above are of the 1959 model, although there was little visual difference from the 1955.

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