Cast your mind back to 1955. Post-war car designs seem to be a little... same-y. Nothing particularly interesting is happening, cars are just something used for getting around, with a few notable exceptions. Then, at the 1955 Paris Motor Show, Citroën, makers of the adorable Ami, shows up with something totally out of this world. A beautiful, curvaceous sedan with some truly incredible features. That car was the DS, and it set the world on fire from the moment the public first saw it.
Over the years, the DS has become a car quite literally synonymous with Citroën. Over 60 years later, it's still one of the most amazing and revolutionary cars the world has ever seen, all of it with good reason. It definitely deserves the reputation that it has. As you might imagine, there are tons of cool facts to know about the brilliant Citroën DS.
11 The Design Was Revolutionary
To say that the DS' design was revolutionary would be quite the understatement. Most cars in the 1950s seemed to look the same, especially those produced in North America. Compared to everything else offered at the time, the DS looked like something from another universe.
The designer, Flaminio Bertoni, wanted something aerodynamic and functional. The end result was a perfect marriage between a work of art, aerodynamics and road presence. It was quite possibly the most daring car of its day, and few cars have managed to come close since then.
10 Instant Sales Success
As soon as the DS debuted in 1955, it hit the ground running. Within the first 45 minutes of the reveal, Citroën had 750 orders for the DS. By the end of the day, 12,000 orders were placed. While this is not an uncommon thing today (see Ford Bronco and Tesla Cybertruck), in the 1950s, this was unheard of.
Between 1955 and 1975, nearly 3 million examples were built, split in half almost perfectly between France and the rest of the world. It really demonstrates the enormity of the impact that the DS had on the car world when it debuted.
9 The Hydropneumatic Suspension
You simply cannot talk about the Citroën DS without mentioning the incredible suspension system. Pretty much all cars of the 50s used conventional coil springs, but the DS used something different. Instead of springs, there were spheres filled with nitrogen gas that were suspended in a hydraulic fluid.
This system was so good, that Citroën used it right up until a few years ago. The biggest benefit the hydropneumatic suspension brought was the ride; save for maybe the latest Rolls-Royce models, there's basically nothing else out there that can match the DS in terms of ride comfort.
8 First Production Car With Disc Brakes
The DS was the first production car in the world to use disc brakes on all four corners. Unlike, say, American cars from the era, this was the only way to have a DS. Back in 1955, this was totally revolutionary, and it signalled the arrival of a time when every car would use disc brakes.
Sure, there were cars with disc brakes that came before the DS. But, this was the first mass-volume production car to actually make them work. The DS also featured an inboard braking system, and the system itself used the same hydraulics as the suspension.
7 There Was A Wagon Version
As well as a regular sedan and convertible version of the DS, Citroën also built a quirky, forbidden fruit station wagon version for a short time. It was called the DS Break, and even though it looked quite similar, it benefitted from a bigger cargo area. While not as good-looking, it still managed to retain that DS charm.
The DS Break began production in 1958, and even when the regular DS went out of production, the DS Break remained on sale for a short while before the CX Break was introduced. They were also used as ambulances in a few areas of the world.
6 The Headlights Turned With The Steering Wheel
Cornering lights. They can be very useful in certain situations. The Citroën DS is where directional — or adaptive headlights, as they're known today — first began. A piece of the headlight assembly would literally turn along with the steering wheel, to help illuminate corners better.
Like so many other aspects of the DS, this was also a revolutionary feature. It would take a long time, until the D3 Audi A8 adopted the same system. Modern car cornering lights owe their existence to the DS' application of directional lights.
5 Revolutionary Safety Features
Before the DS arrived, safety wasn't taken all that seriously in cars. Once again, this car came along to change that, adopting some truly revolutionary safety features to keep its occupants safe.
The DS featured among the first mass-market applications of crumple zones, for examples. The steering column was collapsible, which was a good feature to have when you have a single-spoke steering wheel. There was also a good amount of rollover protection, despite the DS' fiberglass roof, designed to lower the center of gravity.
4 Even The Interior Was Revolutionary
The interior of the DS, much like the exterior, was unlike anything anyone had seen before. For one thing, this was the first car to ever feature plastic in its dashboard, rather than expensive and hard-wearing wood. We can't forget the single-spoke steering wheel either.
The semi-automatic transmission (without a clutch pedal) was controlled through a switch, and the brake pedal was like an on-off switch. Yes, 50 years before the Mercedes SLR had the same thing. Later DS models even had air conditioning, assuming you went for the right options.
3 An Unstoppable Rally Car
Even though it was a luxury car, the DS enjoyed quite a bit of success in the world of rally racing, and off-road racing in general. A modified DS won the Monte Carlo Rally twice; once in 1959, and once more in 1966, even beating the basically unstoppable Mini.
In the 1970s, the DS was one of only five cars that finished the London-Sahara-Munich World Cup, and it won that race as well. Perhaps famously, a DS lost one of its wheels during an off-road race, but that didn't hinder its progress at all. Speaking of which...
2 It Saved A President's Life
One of the most amazing things about the DS is that it saved French president Charles du Gaulle's life. Back in 1962, just outside Paris, there was an assassination attempt on du Gaulle. The motorcade was ambushed, and the DS that the president was in had all four of its tires shot.
The amazing part of the story is that the DS didn't save du Gaulle's life because it was armored; it was because, even though all four tires were shot, the car could still keep going and escape from the ambush. The former president stated afterwards that he wouldn't have wanted to be in any other car at the time.
1 Almost The Car Of The Century
During a vote for the Car of The Century back in 1999, the DS almost took home the prize. Eventually, however, it scored an amazing third place. The third-best car of the entire 20th century, alongside the Ford Model T and the original Mini.
The praise as Car of The Century and all the other praise that the DS has gotten and still gets is all very well deserved. A true pioneer of its day, it's no wonder that the DS remains one of the most influential cars ever built.