In 1955, Citroen introduced a car that changed the automotive history and placed third on the 1999 poll for Car of the Century: the DS.
The pronunciation of these two letters, D and S, in French is spelled as De Es, resembling the déesse, which means “goddess.” Its name wasn’t for nothing since it became the most technologically advanced vehicle in history when compared to other cars from the same time. It made all of the other cars obsolete thanks to its aerodynamic, suspension, and mechanical solutions. It saved the French president Charles de Gaulle’s life from a life-threatening situation and starred in hundreds of movies.
The aeronautical engineer Andre Lefebvre designed the car, and he used all his skills and knowledge from the air industry to make it as aerodynamic as possible. Moreover, all body panels, including the door panels and the roof, could have been removed for painting. Its rear quarter fenders were removable with the same key used to remove the wheel-nuts to replace the rear tires. One of the best car’s features was the swiveling headlights, which turned the headlamps toward the car’s direction via a cable system.
Citroen installed the engine at the front, behind the axle, with the gearbox placed in front of it. That led to better weight distribution and a longer wheelbase. Due to that, the interior was very roomy by any standards. Without any intrusion into the interior, its completely flat floor made it possible to fit three adult-sized passengers in the back without complaints. The one-spoke steering wheel helped the driver better view the instrument cluster placed in front of the driving seat.
Under the hood, Citroen developed a unique engine for those times, with hemispherical burning chambers. Since it didn’t have a large displacement, it didn’t provide too much power, but it was enough to propel the car fast at high speeds for those times, thanks to the car’s aerodynamic. Its manual transmission was offered as standard, while a semi-automatic gearbox with a small selector placed on top of the steering column helped the driver change the gears without the clutch.
