Citroën DS
It's from 1955, before you were born.
- Iconic generation
- 1955 Citroën DS 19 'The Goddess'
- Origin
- France — debuted at the 1955 Paris Motor Show
- Designer
- Flaminio Bertoni (body), André Lefèbvre (engineering)
- Engine
- 1.9L inline-four
- Power
- 75 hp (DS 19)
- Production
- 1955–1975 — about 1.46 million built
- Claim to fame
- Self-leveling hydropneumatic suspension
About
As of 2026, it's 71 years old.
When Citroën pulled the cover off the DS at the 1955 Paris Motor Show, the effect was less car launch than UFO landing. People reportedly placed 12,000 orders on the first day. Nothing on Earth looked or behaved like it — the French press dubbed it 'La Déesse,' the Goddess.
Its party trick was Paul Magès's hydropneumatic suspension: a self-leveling system using nitrogen spheres and fluid that let the DS glide over potholes like a magic carpet and rise up on its haunches when you started it. The same hydraulics powered the brakes, the steering, and the clutch. It was decades ahead of everything.
Sculptor Flaminio Bertoni shaped that swooping, teardrop body, and engineer André Lefèbvre made it slippery. The DS even saved a life: in 1962, its self-leveling suspension kept Charles de Gaulle's car stable after assassins shot out a tire, letting his driver speed away. Try getting that out of your average sedan.
Under the hood, admittedly, was a fairly humble four-cylinder — the DS was about ride, steering, and stopping, not straight-line speed. But across a 20-year run and roughly 1.5 million cars, it proved that a mainstream sedan could also be rolling art and engineering audacity. They really don't make them like the Goddess anymore.
Citroën DS through the years
The Goddess lands
The DS stuns the Paris Motor Show, reportedly taking 12,000 orders on its first day.
Suspension from the future
Hydropneumatic self-leveling suspension delivers a ride decades ahead of its rivals.
It saves de Gaulle
The DS's stable suspension lets the French president escape an assassination attempt on a shot-out tire.
Swiveling headlights
A facelift adds directional headlamps that turn with the steering, another industry-leading touch.
The Goddess retires
After 20 years and roughly 1.46 million cars, the DS bows out as a design landmark.
