The Citroën DS19 was an innovative car launched in 1955 that featured hydropneumatic self-leveling suspension, front-wheel drive, and other advanced engineering. Over 1.4 million were sold worldwide over 20 years of production. Styled by Italian designer Flaminio Bertoni, the DS19 helped French President Charles de Gaulle escape an assassination attempt in 1962 thanks to its stable suspension. Today original DS19 models are highly sought after by collectors, with rare convertible models selling for over $140,000.

1. Still Beautiful at 60 - The Citroën DS19
The elegant curved, aerodynamic and in-
novate design of the Citroën DS has made
it a motoring icon. Launched on 10 June
1955 at the Paris Motor Show the large,
expensive executive DS19 attracted a
staggering 750 orders in the first 45
minutes of the show, had clocked 12,000
orders by the end of the first day and al-
most 80,000 by the end of the show. Over
its 20 year production run 1,455,746 were
sold worldwide, with production peaking
in 1970 with 103,633 cars made. Most
were built in Paris and until 1965 cars
were also assembled at Citroën's Slough
factory for the UK market. British built
cars had leather seats, one piece plastic
dashboards and chromed number plate
mount set into the front bumper.
Styled and engineered by Italian sculptor
and industrial designer Flaminio Bertoni
and the French aeronautical engineer An-
dré Lefèbvre the DS, loosely named after
Déesse , the French for goddess, was
cushioned on a bed of hydraulic fluid
providing independent self-levelling sus-
pension, had front wheel drive, inboard
mounted front disc brakes and detacha-
ble body panels. At launch the DS19 was
so far advanced it rendered half the
world's cars out of date in an instant.
The DS maintained its size and shape
throughout production, however continu-
al improvements were made. In 1965 the
more luxurious Pallas model was intro-
duced, with better noise insulation, and
higher levels of trim inside and outside
the car.
One of the features the DS is most fa-
mous for, swivelling headlamps, was the
introduced on the 1968 model. Turning
the steering wheel turned the inner set of
the four headlamps by up to 80 degrees,
lighting the driver's intended path. The
outer headlamps didn't swivel and were
self-levelling in response to pitching from
acceleration and braking. Swivelling head-
lights weren't permitted in the US and
were static for the American market.
The DS was available as a saloon, an es-
tate, also known as a Safari, and a con-
vertible or Decapotable. The estate was
also available in an ambulance configura-
tion and also used as a camera car by TV
and film companies, including the BBC for
The innovative swiveling headlamps were
introduced in 1968

2. running alongside horse races, as the hy-
dropneumatic suspension provided a
steady platform for filming whilst driving.
Despite its size, weight and power, the DS
was successful in international rallying
winning the 1959 and 1966 Monte Carlo
Rally, the 1000 Lakes Rally in 1962 and the
gruelling 1974 London-Sahara-Munich
World Cup Rally in which 70 cars started
and only 5 finished. Seemingly the rough-
er the terrain the better for the DS, which
proved the car's robust and reliable de-
sign.
In 1955 a DS19 would cost £1,726, more
expensive at that time than a MkII Jaguar
and Rover 105. Today prices are high with
top condition saloons fetching £16,000.
Later saloon models, the DS20, 21 and 23
are more in demand and command
£30,000 in A1 condition. The stunning and
very rare Decapotable convertible models
built by Parisian coachbuilder Henri
Chapron using the Safari chassis change
hands for an eye watering £140,000.
The DS often appear in films set between
1955 and 1975 and located in France, for
example the 1973 The Day of the Jackal,
which is an accurate reconstruction of the
attempted assassination of French Presi-
dent Charles de Gaulle in 1962. De Gaulle
was traveling in an unarmoured DS and
despite being caught in a hail of 140 bul-
lets and with 4 punctured tyres the
chauffeur was able to escape at full speed
thanks to the car's superior suspension
system.
A rare DS Safari appeared in the 2006 film
Driving Lessons starring Julie Walters and
Rupert Grint.
When Andre Citroën formed his company
in 1913 it was gearwheels he produced,
which is why the Citroën badge comprises
of two large chevrons. The first car, the
Type A, rolled off their Paris production
line in 1919 and Citroën soon built up a
reputation for producing slightly quirky
cars, frequently with innovative engineer-
ing and design. Citroën was sold to Mich-
elin in 1935 and in 1969 De Gaulle, know-
ing he owed his life to the Citroën DS pre-
vented the outright sale of Citroën to Fiat,
instead limiting the holding to just 15 per-
cent. In 1975 facing bankruptcy the
French government funded Citroën's sale
to a group that included French rival
Peugeot, forming PSA Peugeot Citroën.
Citroën reintroduced the DS brand in
2010, using it to distinguish high quality
and specification variants of existing mod-
els.
A police investigator examines bullet holes in the Citroën DS 19
that helped French president Charles de Gaulle escape