FOREWORD. By Graham Hull M. Des, RCA Chief Stylist Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and Bentley Motor Cars

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1 FOREWORD By Graham Hull M. Des, RCA Chief Stylist Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and Bentley Motor Cars The aesthetic perspective Analysing the Citroën DS from a styling or design viewpoint is slightly intimidating; after all, it s unusual for a motor car to be referred to as a Goddess, and a reputed 12,000 orders on the first day of its launch must be unprecedented. Renowned philosopher, Roland Barthes, was inspired by the new Citroën to write a eulogy, famously comparing the car with modern-day cathedrals. In 1999 a UK design jury declared the DS The Product of the Century, ahead of other well-known consumables. It is hard to think of many other vehicles which have equalled the Citroën s initial impact and impact on public awareness. Intriguingly, in the car world, this Goddess is not always assured of unreserved adoration. A 1997 survey of the top twenty most beautiful cars, conducted by Classic and Sportscar magazine, placed the DS at number eighteen; I suspect that it is among the wider design world and art connoisseurs that this vehicle finds its most ardent admirers. Styling background The conceptual origins of a car launched in 1955 would have been around five years earlier; in Citroën s case, full size mock-ups bearing DS DNA were being worked on in Citroën s Italian chief stylist, Flaminio Bertoni, had been involved with the 1934 Traction Avant and later the 2CV. Bertoni, a true backroom boy, was a talented artist in not only two dimensions but three: it was his sculptural skills that held the key to the DS s radical visual solution to a number of design issues. Motor car styling was breaking with tradition in the 1930s. Streamlining began to have a stylistic influence on everything from trains, through domestic appliances, to cars. French car designers appeared to welcome the avant-garde influence of aerodynamics. For instance, in 1938 the Parisian coachbuilder, Pourtout, created the superb low-drag Georges Paulin-styled Embiricos Bentley that raced at Le Mans. World War Two prevented much progress although aircraft aerodynamics surged ahead. In the 1950s Panhard cars became aerodynamic, also competing at Le Mans. No-one, however, seems to have been more committed to this new discipline than Citroën. From the earliest post war sketches and models it is obvious that Bertoni had decided that a windcheating philosophy was to be the raison d etre for his new big Citroën. What is also apparent is that, unusually, Citroën s engineering designers must have totally agreed with the stylist s quest. Major changes were made to accommodate aesthetic requirements, an example being that the wheelbase was increased until it reached a staggering 10ft 3in, exactly the same as that of a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud! The DS s rear track was also modified until it was 8in narrower than the front. The main styling elements were in place by December 1950, when Project D was officially born. It must be reassuring to today s designers that Bertoni was still deciding exterior and interior elements six months before the 4

2 suspension technology would be required. The then notoriously poor state of French roads meant that much had to be accomplished if a car s occupants were to be insulated from surfaces that were often appalling by British standards. There was much more of course, as to achieve the speeds envisaged by Boulanger it was necessary to study the fundamentals of vehicle construction in order to keep weight to a minimum; additionally, any design had to be aerodynamically perfect. Pierre Boulanger was emphatic that in order for Lefebvre and his team to arrive at a suitable blueprint for the VGD nothing was to be ignored or forsaken, however radical or revolutionary it might seem. Even at that time the concept of designing a lightweight platform, tubular-built from either steel or aluminium, to which panels could be attached, was not dismissed. Bertoni s early styling 32 In addition to the VGD project, work was carried out simultaneously at Javel on a number of other assignments, not least of which concerned a series of commercial vehicles. During 1939, and throughout the early war years, exercises were conducted on a prototype forward control van using load-sensitive braking. Engineer, Paul Magès, experimented with hydraulics, and the result of his work was the true genesis of Citroën s hydropneumatic system. The prototype commercial vehicle, known as the TUB, emerged in post war years as the ubiquitous H Van. (Author s collection) themes, and those he resumed after the war, reflect the secret proposals being considered at the Bureau d Etudes. A new beginning During the war years the cessation of car production generated much discussion in the motoring press about automotive styling in general, retrospectively as well as forecasting future trends. Styling themes predicted by the motor industry s most respected commentators were carefully noted, and Britain s principal motoring journals, The Autocar and The Motor, indicated that previously upright designs, often featuring razor-edge styling, were being replaced by subtle curves. By incorporating wings with a sloping bonnet, a full-width styling effect could be achieved along with smaller air intakes. Lefebvre was far in advance of such discussion, his idea being to completely eliminate the conventional air intake by devising a frontal shape that would have a dragcoefficient as low as possible. Intake of air for engine cooling purposes, he considered, could be achieved by designing a scoop beneath and behind the bumper without compromising air resistance. Such a styling configuration had evolved through Lefebvre s belief that a teardrop was aerodynamically perfect in shape, a formula Bertoni had incorporated to produce a rounded nose and tapering roof and tail. Lefebvre was not alone in his ideals, the subject of streamlining having been studied by various stylists, coachbuilders and manufacturers, with designs as diverse as Figoni et Falaschi s arrangements

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4 Citroën Safaris received similar technical development to the saloons so that when faired-in headlamps were introduced they were fitted across the entire range of cars. All Safari estate cars had factory-fitted roof racks, and this right-hand drive example has a topical paint scheme. (Courtesy Brian Drummond) ID saloon, though there were some variations in respect of braking, steering and suspension systems. At first all models featured the heave-ho unassisted steering of the ID saloons but were soon uprated to the powered system of the DS. While this became standard for some markets, those cars destined for the French market were modified according to option. Because estate car models were designed to carry heavier than usual loads, their braking system was similar to that on saloon models, controlled not by the ID s pendant pedal but the floor-mounted mushroom device. Additionally, brake drums (fitted with cooling fins for greater efficiency) were of increased diameter, as were brake shoes; consequently brake cylinders were also larger. The suspension was also boosted so that rear spheres were pressurised to 526psi instead of the usual 369psi, and larger diameter suspension spheres (40mm compared to 35mm) and reinforced wheel arms were fitted accordingly. The ID19 engine fitted to the early Breaks was supplanted in March 1963 by the 83bhp 1911cc unit that powered the DS, although the original three-bearing motor survived as an option until 1966, albeit in very limited numbers. When the new generation of five-bearing engines arrived these were immediately adopted for the entire range of Breaks, in 90bhp form rather than the 84bhp fitted to ID saloons. For use in mountainous regions, cars with a lower final drive became available, and from October 1964 the model range was fitted with tri-axe inner constant velocity joint driveshafts, a year in advance of on saloons. Unlike ID saloons, which were powered by the 1985cc engine, Breaks received more power courtesy of the DS21 Breaks appealed to business users as well as motorists needing a large and highly functional vehicle. Unlike most estate cars the DS handled like a saloon, irrespective of the load carried. (Courtesy Tony Stokoe/Brian Scott-Quinn) 96

5 Renault s Frégate, seen here in Manoir Station Wagon guise, was no competition for the DS. Author s collection) Simca s Vedette seen in good company. Note the partly hidden DS on the right and the Traction Avant behind. In estate car form the Vedette was marketed as the Marley. (Author s collection) imagination of French motorists and was beset by problems from the start. The design team was adamant that the car - with front engine and rear drive - should have a flat floor, just like Citroën s Traction Avant. The mix was disastrous: seven universal joints in the drivetrain, and an engine based on the design of that used for the 4CV but enlarged from 747cc to two litres. Performance was unimpressive and only the Transfluide (from 1959) with its torque converter transmission showed any potential. Transfluide estate cars were well appointed, and intended as direct competition to Simca s Marley, but were no match for Citroën s ID Breaks. By the early sixties it was all too late; the Frégate was outdated and Renault had nothing to offer in the big car league. Only when the awardwinning front-wheel drive R16 arrived in 1965 did Renault have something tangible with which to rival the DS. When Citroën introduced the Traction Avant in 1934, Peugeot went on the offensive with a campaign intended to discredit front-wheel drive. Twenty years later the Sochaux firm admitted to its benefits when it introduced the front-wheel drive, transverse-engined 204. Meanwhile, the 203, built from 1948 to 1960, and the 403 which arrived in 1955, were tough 144 and willing workhorses. Those French motorists not won over by Citroën s dedication to front-wheel drive were well served by Peugeot s offerings, and for those who had a penchant for open top motoring, what better way to do this than in a 403 cabriolet? Proof of the 403 s rugged engineering is the fact that plentiful numbers were exported to countries where tarmac roads were unknown. Having an ability to endure much when it came to overloading and lack of maintenance, these machines serve today in environmentally hostile conditions. The 403 s successor, the 404, was also destined for hard work. Available with diesel engines, 404s