the return of the citroen DS

[lunarhighway]

citroen recently announced it would revive the legendary citroen DS! this might very well spell the return of the wheelskirt... citroëns have always stood appart from the mainstream with their unique design and technology, much of wich was a head of its time, and recent citroens, especially the bigger ones, still had a bit of that DS flair about them.

i hope citroen will have the balls to reuse one of the best features of the ds wich is that fully faired boat tailed back... but even other clasic features like a warp around windshield might return.

i hope the first pictures won't be a disapointment, but here's a few recent citroëns as wel as the DS ... so that you can imagine or bether photoshop the DS3

the DS1

the DS2

with integrated and teering headlights... only in recent years cars began to adopt similar shaped headlights... for decades cars had simple square or round lights without much style....


the titroen C6

citroens curent luxury barge... not my favourite design but extra points for originality


the C5 sedan

the C4 coupé

with its swept back rear winshiedld... good for low drag and not at al dissimilar to the rear window layout of the original DS

the C3 pluriel

a semi convertible "fun" version of the subcompact C3... a car that echoes features of the lovable 2CV but wich has a nose wich wouldn't look out of place on the DS when it was a little stretched.


the C3 picasso

a very recent mpv based on the C3, included in this list becouse it brings back another interesting feature that has been lost in cars over the years... the warp around windshield... never cars have increasing thick a pillars and with the ever more reclined windows these pillars can become as much of a safety hazard as they protect you... the c3 picasso has semi A pillars to support the 3 piece front window, and thick structural A pillars at the doors...
i'd vote for this feature on the DS3 as well!


finally a concept wich has been nemtioned in relation with the DS3 the airlounge


anyway, if all the best features of the cars shown above end up in the DS3 it might end up a very modern car wich retains the character and look without sacrificeing the good things of modern cars for the sake of "retro" like the beetle and the mini did (they both have terrible aero and their pricetag puts them out of teh league of all round economy cars they once where)

[tjts1]

Thank god they don't sell that garbage over here.

[lunarhighway]

i take it you're not that fond of citroëns styling?...

but that's partly my point... at least this brand is not trying to look like every other car out there, and their technology used to be well ahead of it's time, and even today they build clever and decent cars...

[groar]

Lots of speculations by here, no real information. It seams they are only going to use the name to build a luxury brand to replace the C6 that doesn't sell very well.

In these times, the DS was full of technical innovations, noticeably the way its hydraulic system was used, while the standard car was the Traction Avant. They tried to replace the DS by the SM (despite the look, its Cd is 0.336) but Michelin sold Citroen&Maserati to Peugeot and Peugeot sold Maserati which engine was in the SM, so SM production stopped.

I don't remember having seen any C6 in the street, while I can see several C4 coupé (Cd=0.28) everyday.

They should present the new DS Thursday.

Denis.

[Peter7307]

I thought the C6 was mean to be the "new DS".
The C5 has both hydropneumatic and conventional steel spring suspension , depending on the model.

Having owned both a Renault 16 (steel torsion bar suspension and conventional dampers) and several Citroen cars (DS 23 - a blue one , like the photo above- , CX 2400 and an SM ) the advantages of the Citroen system are few and the complexities many. Not in my opinion a worthwhile trade off.

By the way the SM model was never intended to replace the DS. The CX was the DS replacement and the SM was intended to be the company flagship aimed to a higher market niche. It was also the only two door built by the factory at the time.

The Traction Avant was the forerunner to the DS released in 1955 , which is the red one in the photos above The two models over lapped for about 18 months while Citroen struggled to get the DS into production.

Pete.

[Peter7307]

Incidentally ,
The DS series had a teardrop shape when viewed from above and the spare wheel was under the hood so there was a completely flat trunk floor which held about 18 cu ft.
The self leveling suspension ensure the car remained in the ideal angle of attack to take advantage of the shape regardless of the number of passengers and volume of luggage carried and the ride frequency was also virtually unchanged.

The Renault had a similar arrangement for the spare and the body was a five door hatch and better aero then the blunt front would suggest.

Cheers , Pete.

[cfg83]

lunarhighway -

I messed with the concept version :



- Decreased rear wheel track (not really noticeable)
- Rear wheel skirt
- Side view mirror downsize
- Racing disks
- Lowered smaller air intake to where licence plate was
- Front faux-grille would stay for aesthetics and/or be covered in clear-plastic
- De-emphasized "scooplet" in front of front wheel
- Reduced depth of dark cavity in horizontal chrome accents

It appears that it has rear passenger suicide doors. It would be neat if the new DS comes with same.

Edit: Oooooooh, accidental symmetry on 90-day MPG :



The answer to the universe in forward and reverse. DON'T PANIC!!!!

CarloSW2

.

[lunarhighway]

here's the 80's citroen XM

pretty low Cd 0.28 or 0.29 i believe...not bad for such a boxy look... but i mainly like the wheels! these are one of my all time favorite rims

i think carmakers urgently have to reintroduce full hubcaps... they'd look awsome on the curent size of wheels...certainly would give even existing models a new more spacey look

[groar]

Can't find an English article with pictures so here is a Spanish one :
Confirmado: Asi es el Citroen DS3 (concept, por el momento) - Autoblog Espanol

The pictures :
Citroen DS Concept - Autoblog Espanol
Citroen DS Concept - Autoblog Espanol
Citroen DS Concept - Autoblog Espanol

Edit: for the pictures follow the link "Gallery: Citroën DS Inside Concept" inside the article. Currently this link is this one and gives access to 12 pictures.

Finally the new DS are "better" versions of current cars. The DS3 is a better C3. A DS4 and DS5 are awaited after that.

Denis.

[Peter7307]

Denis,
I cannot get the links in your post to work.
Have they changed?

Pete.