Citroen just as it had done 21 years previously with the revolutionary ‘Traction Avant’, Citroën stunned the world again in 1955 with the launch of the strikingly styled ‘DS’. Beneath the shark-like newcomer’s aerodynamically efficient, low-drag bodyshell there was all-independent, self-levelling, hydro-pneumatic suspension plus power-operated brakes, clutch, and steering.
The project had been initiated in the 1930s by the company’s managing director, Pierre-Jules Boulanger, and would be brought to fruition by designers Andre Lefebvre, previously with Voisin and Renault, and Flaminio Bertoni, who had worked on the styling of the pre-war Traction Avant. Part of Boulanger’s brief had been that the proposed ‘VGD’ (Voiture de Grand Diffusion or Mass Market Car) should be capable of affording a comfortable ride over sub-standard rural roads while remaining stable at sustained high speeds on the Autoroutes. The solution to these seemingly incompatible requirements was the famous hydro-pneumatic suspension, suggested by Citroën engineer Paul Mages. No European car would match the DS’s ride quality for several years, the fundamental soundness of Citroën’s ahead-of-its-time hydro-pneumatic suspension being demonstrated by its survival until relatively recently on top-of-the-range models.
In September 1965 the DS’s original 1,911cc, overhead-valve, long-stroke engine – inherited from the Traction Avant – was replaced by a short-stroke 1,985cc unit, also available in 2,175cc and 2,347cc versions, while other DS developments included swiveling headlights, fuel injection and a five-speed gearbox. Other models offered alongside the original DS were the ID (a simplified, cheaper version), the cavernous Safari estate and the two-door Décapotable (convertible), the latter boasting coachwork by Henri Chapron.
Chapron’s first convertibles had been produced independently of Citroën but the factory eventually gave the project its blessing. Citroën’s own cabriolet were built on the longer, stronger chassis of the ID Break (Estate) but the model was never produced in England, where Citroën’s right-hand drive cars were assembled at its Slough factory up to 1966. Technical developments proceeded in step with those of the saloon; thus in 1966 the convertible gained the DS21 engine and in 1969 the faired-in directional headlamps. DS convertible sales progressively declined as the years passed, and production finally ceased in 1971. In total, 1,365 usine (factory) convertibles were made with either the DS19 or DS21 engine between 1960 and 1971.
Despite the demise of the factory-built soft-top, Henri Chapron continued to build his version in small numbers, on request, first on the DS21 chassis and then the DS23. These Chapron-built convertibles, coming after the end of the factory-built cars, are easily recognized by their sills with a single jacking point, production saloon taillights and the coachbuilder’s chromium-plated signature on the lower side of the front wings.
