Citroën DS FD 1974

The Citroën DS is a four-door, front-engine, manufactured and marketed by the French company Citroën 1955-1975 in the sedan, wagon / estate, and configurations of convertible body; Designed by the Italian sculptor and industrial designer Flaminio Bertoni and the French aeronautical engineer André Lefèbvre ; and known for its futuristic, aerodynamic body and the innovative technology - including a hydro-pneumatic suspension with self-leveling .

The DS set new standards in ride quality , handling and braking. Citroën sold nearly 1.5 million D-series during 20 years of broadcast production model. The DS came in third in the 1999 car of the century, the recognition of the designs of cars world's most influential, and was named the most beautiful car of all time by the magazine Classic & Sports Car .

History Model

After 18 years of development in secret as the successor to the Traction Avant , the DS 19 was introduced on 5 October 1955 at the Paris Salon . In the first 15 minutes of the program, it took 743 orders for the first day was 12,000.

Journalists contemporaries said the DS pushed the envelope in the ride vs. handling compromise possible in a motor vehicle.

To a France still deep in reconstruction after the devastation of the Second World War, and also the construction of their identity in the world, post-colonial, the DS motor car was a symbol of the ingenuity of the French. The DS was distributed over many territories in the world.

I also raised the relevance of the nation in the space age , during the global race for technology of the cold war . structuralist philosopher Roland Barthes , in an essay about the car, he said that it seemed as if she had "fallen from the sky ". A advertisement american summarizes this point-of-sale: ". It takes a special person to drive a special car"

The price tag high, however, affect the general sales ^{[ citation needed ]} in a country that is still recovering from the Second World War, and a sub-cheapest model, the Citroën ID, was introduced in 1957, The ID shared body of the DS, but it was less powerful. Although it shared the engine capacity DS (at this stage 1.911 cc), the ID provided a maximum power output of only 69 hp compared to the 75 hp claimed for the DS19. Power outputs were further differentiated in 1961 when the DS19 acquired a carburetor double body Weber-32, and the increasing availability of fuel of a higher octane rating allowed the manufacturer to increase the compression ratio of 7.5: 1 and 8.5:. 1an new DS19 now came with a promise of 83 HP . power The ID19 was also more traditional mechanically: it had no power steering and had conventional transmission and clutch instead of the DS's hydraulically controlled set-up. Initially, the ID19 basic is sold in the French market with a price saving of more than 25% against the DS, although the differential was reduced at the end of 1961 when the manufacturer quietly withdrew the ID19 entry-level "Normale" from sale. The ID19 followed the DS19 in the use of a name of word games. While "DS" is pronounced in French as "Déesse" (goddess), "ID" is pronounced as "Idée" (idea).

The DS was the first mass production of cars with power front disc brakes . It also featured hydropneumatic suspension including an automatic levelling system and the distance to the ground , variable power-assisted steering and a semi - automatic gearbox (the transmission required no clutch pedal , but gears still had to be shifted by hand), even though the shift lever controlled a mechanism-operated hydraulic change in place of articulation mechanics, and a fibreglass roof which lowered the centre of gravity and thus reduced the weight transfer . Front brake inner (as well as independent suspension) reduced unsprung weight. Sizes widths via rear front different and the tires and reduces the load of the tires uneven, which is well known to promote understeer , typical of front-engine and front-wheel-drive cars.

As with all French cars, the design DS was affected by the tax horsepower system, that mandate is effectively very small engines. Unlike its predecessor Traction Avant, not had a top model range with a powerful six-cylinder engine. Citroën had planned an air-cooled -6 flat engine for the car, but didn't have the funds to put the engine prototype in production. Despite the acceleration in a quiet place that offers its small four cylinder engine, derived from the Traction Avant, the DS was successful in motorsports like meeting , where sustained speeds on surfaces with poor are of the utmost importance, and won the Monte Carlo Rally in 1959 and controversially in 1966 , after the disqualification of the team BMC Mini-Cooper. In the Rally of the 1000 Lakes , Pauli Toivonen drove a DS19 to victory in 1962.

The DS placed fifth on the magazine's Auto list of "100 Coolest Cars" 's in 2005. ^[14] he was Also named the most beautiful car of all time by Classic & Sports Car magazine after a poll of 20 designers to hire world-renowned, including Giorgetto Giugiaro , Ian Callum , Roy Axe , Paul Bracq , and Leonardo Fioravanti .

Technical innovation - hydraulic systems

In conventional cars, hydraulics are only used in brakes and power steering . The DS is also used for the suspension, clutch and transmission, while the ID19 afternoon had manual steering and system of braking energy-a simplified.

In a time when few passenger vehicles had independent suspension on all four wheels, the application of the hydraulic system for the suspension system of the vehicle to provide a system of auto-leveling was a ground-breaking move. This suspension allows the car to achieve a precise handling combined with very high ride quality , frequently compared to a " magic carpet ". The hydropneumatic suspension used was pioneered the year before, at the rear of another car from Citroën, the top of range Traction Avant 15CV-H.

The 1.955 DS cemented the brand Citroën as a innovative car, building on the success of the Traction Avant , which had been the first monocoque car from front-wheel-drive mass-production of the world in 1934, In fact, the DS caused such a huge sensation that Citroën was worried that future models would not be of the same standard bold. No clean sheet new models were introduced 1955-1970.

The DS was a large, expensive executive car and a brand extension to the poor was attempted, but without result. Throughout the late 1950s and 1960s Citroën developed many new vehicles for the large market segments between the 2CV and the DS, occupied by vehicles like the Peugeot 403 , Renault 16 and Ford Cortina , but none made it into production. Any of them had construction costs not profitable, or was it a normal "me too" cars, not up to the high level of company innovation . As Citroën was owned by Michelin as a sort of research lab, and it was a powerful announcement to the abilities of the radial tire Michelin had invented, such experimentation was possible.

Other models produced by Citroën were based on the utilitarian 2-cylinder 2CV car of the economy (which contained some of the most advanced engineering independent chassis suspension in the world). The Ami also designed by Flaminio Bertoni attempted to combine the styling of the DS with the advanced chassis of the 2CV. It was a great success in France in the 1960s, but not so much in the export markets due to their controversial styling, and by being noisy and underpowered. The Dyane , was a modernised 2CV with a window to the rear, to compete with the Renault 4 .

Citroën finally did introduce the Citroën GS in 1970, which won the "european car of the year" for 1971 and sold a spectacular 2.5 million units. But it still lacked the elements of a-4 flat air-cooled engine, and the version with rotary engine Wankel provisions did not come into full production.

Replacement of the DS

The DS remained popular and competitive throughout its production cycle. Year of production peak was 1970 Certain design elements like the cockpit a little tight, mounted in the column, gearstick , and separate fenders began to seem a little old-fashioned in the 1970s.

Citroën invested enormous resources to design and implement an all-new vehicle in 1970, the SM , that was a well modernized, similar length, but the car is much wider than that of the DS. But, the SM had to fulfill another purpose beyond modernizing the DS: it had to launch Citroën into a new grand tourer market segment . Only equipped with a Maserati engine, the SM was faster and much more expensive than the DS. The SM was not designed to be a practical 4-door saloon suitable as a large family car , the key market for vehicles of this type in Europe. Typically, manufacturers would introduce low-volume coupés based on parts shared with a room existing, the patterns are not as unique, a contemporary example is the Mercedes-Benz SLC-Class . High price of SM and the limited utility of the 2 + 2 seating configuration, meant the SM as actually produced could not seize the mantle from the DS.

Unlike the DS, the factory never authorized a convertible model, as Citroën felt the roof was integral part of the structure of the SM. In the SM, the roof and the panels on the rear quarter welded in. Although the construction SM was conceptually similar to the DS - a framework of platforms with many pieces spotwelded together, mid-engine , front-wheel drive , front fenders detachable, hydropneumatic suspension , headlights, turn signals , rear skirts, fender , and the arm-side rear suspension - it is a car completely different. The DS and SM were both assembled on the same production lines at Quai André-Citroën , Paris. The parts manual for SM will reveal hundreds of small parts which carry the numbers in part "D", and the examination of the drawings shows that many others are parts D modified for the SM, like the elements of the front suspension, the automatic and 5-speed transaxles manual, and the swing arms on the rear, which have brackets clamps disk welded in instead of the support plate of a brake drum bolted on. Many parts are interchangeable between D and SM, for example, motors DS fit in the SM with certain modifications.

The DS was finally removed in 1976, at which time 1.455.746 cars had been produced, including 1.330.755 built in the mass-production plant for the manufacturer's original in Paris, at the Quai André-Citroën (previously the Quai de Javel). The decision not to continue with the model simplified the company's plans to transfer its principal production lines by 1976 to a new plant being developed further from central Paris, at Aulnay-sous-Bois . ^[16] The last car left the production line on 24 April 1975, and the DS was replaced as the large family or executive car in the model range by the smaller CX . ^[16] At this time the manufacturer had taken the precaution elemental of the construction of approximately eight months of inventory of the " break "(estate / station wagon) version of the DS, however, to cover the period until the autumn of 1975, when I was introduced to the farm / station, family version of the CX.

In the wake of the 1973 oil crisis , the development and launch of the CX, along with the investment in the new plant of Aulnay, where it was manufactured, in bankruptcy Citroën^] and forced to accept a merger with Peugeot, to form PSA Peugeot Citroën .

Manufacturing

The DS was primarily manufactured in Paris, with other manufacturing facilities in the United Kingdom, south Africa, the former Yugoslavia (mostly Break Ambulances), and Australia.

Australia constructed their own D variant in the 1960s at Heidelberg, Victoria , identified as the ID 19 "Parisienne". the cars-australian market were fitted with options as standard equipment, such as the "Dspecial DeLuxe" that were not available in Europe domestic models.

Until the 1965 cars were assembled at the manufacturer's Slough premises, to the west of London, using a combination of French made semi CKD kits and components of local origin, some of them machined on site. An electrical system French replaced the british in the cars Slough in 1962, giving rise to a change to "continental" with connection to earth. After you imported the 1965 cars for the british market fully mounted French factory of the company. The car manufacturing british are distinguished by their leather seats, wooden boards, and (on cars pre-1962) Luke power -fact.

DS in the united States

The DS is sold in the united States from 1956 to 1972, during which time it sold 38,000 units. While the DS was popular in Europe, not sold well in the united States. Apparently, a luxury car, it had the basic features that buyers expect to find in a vehicle: fully automatic transmission , air conditioning , electric windows , and a powerful engine. The evolution of the DS in 1970 ranged from US $ 4,066 to US $ 4,329.

In addition, it conditioned the buyers of luxury cars americans at the time of showing its new cars, the design details of which are changed every model year as a kind of stylistic obsolescence is planned , but the look of the DS did not change substantially in the 16 years that was available in the united States.

US regulations at the time forbade one of the more advanced features of the car, its composite headlamps with lenses of aerodynamic cover. At that time, all vehicles sold in the US had to have standard-size sealed beam headlamps; it is Not allowed for lamps replaceable-bulb composite until the end of 1983, and cover the lenses, even the most clear, are not legal in the usa.UU.. The first year of glass aerodynamic enclosing the headlamps on the DS was also the first year that feature was outlawed in the U.S.: 1968.

In 1967, the DS and ID was again restyled, by Robert Opron, stylist of the later SM. This version had a more streamlined headlight design, giving the car a particular aspect of shark-like. This design had four headlights under a canopy of glass smooth, and the inner spool is rotated with the steering wheel. This allowed the driver to see "around" turns, especially valuable on twisting roads driven at high speed on the night.

However, this feature was not allowed in the U.S. at the time (see World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations ), so a version with four exposed headlamps that did not swivel was made for the us market.

The edition station wagon, the Break (called Safari ID in the Uk market) and "Automobile", has also been updated. The hydraulic fluid changed to the technically superior LHM (Liquide Hydraulique mineral) in all markets except in the US, where the change did not occur until January of 1969.

Most rare and collectible of all the variants of the DS, a convertible was offered from 1958 until 1973, The Cabriolet d Usine (convertible built in the factory) were built in small series by French carrossier Henri Chapron , for the network of dealers of Citroen. These convertible DS used a special frame that was reinforced in the stringers and box bearing swingarm rear suspension, similar, but not identical to the break (Station Wagon) frame.

In addition, Chapron also produced a few coupés, non-works convertibles and special sedans (including the "Prestige", same wheelbase, but with a center divider, and the "Lorraine" of three volumes ).

Between 1959 and 1964, Hector Bossaert produced a coupé on a chassis shortened DS by 18 ½ inches (470mm). While the front remained unchanged, the rear end shows the style of three volumes .

In 1965, noted American customizer car Gene Winfield created the Reactor, a two-seat Citroen DS with a turbocharged 180 horsepower Corvair engine that drives the front wheels, and an aluminum body aerodynamic. ^[24] This vehicle was seen in tv programs of the era , such as Batman episodes 110 ("crimes feline fun") and 111 (driven by Catwoman Eartha Kitt ), and Bewitched , which devoted the episode 3.19 ("Super Car") to the reactor.

Technical details

In a hydropneumatic suspension system, each wheel is connected, not to a spring, but to a hydraulic suspension that consists of a hydraulic accumulator sphere of about 12 cm in diameter that contains pressurized nitrogen , a cylinder containing hydraulic fluid screwed to the field of suspension, a piston inside the cylinder connected by levers to the suspension itself, and a valve damping between the piston and the sphere. A membrane in the sphere prevented the nitrogen from escaping. The motion of the wheels translated to a motion of the piston, which acts on the oil in the cushion of nitrogen and provided the spring effect. The valve took place of the shock absorber in conventional suspensions. The hydraulic cylinder is fed with hydraulic fluid from the pressure vessel through a checker of height, a valve controlled by the average position of the anti-roll bar connected to the shaft. If the suspension was too low, the automatic height introduces fluid at high pressure; if too high, releases of new fluid to the fluid reservoir. In this way, it maintained a constant height. A control in the cab allows the driver to select one of five heights : normal height for driving, two levels of driving slightly higher for the poor terrain, and two extreme positions for changing wheels. (The correct term, oleoneumático (oil-air), has never gained widespread use. Hydropneumatic (water-air) continues to be overwhelmingly preferred.)

The DS didn't have a jack to lift the car off the ground. In contrast, the hydraulic system to activate changes of wheels with the aid of a simple adjustable support. To change a flat tire, you could adjust the suspension to its highest setting, insert the support peg in a special near the flat tyre then readjust the suspension to its lowest setting. The prick then retract upwards and float above the ground, ready to be changed. This system, which is used on the SM also, was superseded on the CX by a screw jack that after the suspension was raised to the high position lifted the tire clear of the ground. The system DS, while impressive to use, sometimes dropped the car suddenly, especially if the support is not placed precisely or the ground was soft or uneven.

Source and reserve of pressure

The central part of the hydraulic system was the high-pressure pump, which maintained a pressure of between 130 and 150 bar in two accumulators. These accumulators were very similar in construction to the spheres of suspension. One of them was dedicated to the front brakes , and the other ran the other hydraulic systems. (. In the simpler models of identification, the front brakes operated from the accumulator and main) as Well, in case of a failure of the hydraulic, the first indication would be that the steering became heavy, followed by the gearbox not working; only later would fail on the brakes.

The hydraulic fluid

The system hydropneumatic original used a vegetable oil Végétal liquide hydraulique (PCI), similar to that used in other cars at the time. Later, Citroën changed to using a synthetic synthétique hydraulique liquide fluid (LHS). Both had the disadvantage that they are hygroscopic , as is the case with the majority of brake fluids . Disuse allows water to enter the hydraulic components causing deterioration and maintenance work is costly. The difficulty with hydraulic fluid hygroscopic was exacerbated in the DS / ID due to the extreme rise and fall in the liquid level in the reservoir, which went from nearly full to nearly empty when the suspension is extended to the maximum height and the six accumulators in the system filled with fluid. With every "inhalation" of moisture fresh (and dust -) laden air, the fluid absorbed more water. In August 1967, Citroën introduced a new mineral oil minéral hydraulique liquide fluid-based (LHM). This fluid was much less harsh on the system. LHM remained in use within Citroën until the Xantia was discontinued in 2001.

LHM required completely different materials for the seals. By using any of liquid in the incorrect system would destroy completely seals hydraulic very quickly. To help avoid this problem, Citroën added a dye bright green fluid LHM and also painted all hydraulic elements bright green. The old parties LHS were painted black.

We used two hydraulic pumps different. The DS used a seven-cylinder axial piston pump driven by two belts and delivering 175 bar (2540 psi) of pressure. The ID19, with its hydraulic system more simple, it had a pump of a single cylinder driven by an eccentric on the camshaft .

Gearbox and clutch

The mechanical aspects of the gearbox and clutch were completely conventional and the same elements were used in the ID 19. The control of gear change, however, consisted of a gear selector hydraulic, and the clutch control. The speed of coupling of the clutch is controlled by a scan engine rpm regulator centrifugal and driven off the camshaft by a belt, the position of the butterfly valve in the carburettor (i.e. the position of the throttle), and the brake circuit. When you press the brake, the engine idle speed dropped to a rpm below the speed of the connection of the clutch, thus preventing friction while stopped in gear at traffic lights. When the brake is released, the idle speed increases to the speed of drag of the clutch. The car then dragged forward as much as the cars automatic transmission. This drop of the throttle position of inactivity also caused the car to have more engine drag when the brakes are applied, even before the car dropped to idle speed in gear, preventing the engine pulling against the brakes.

Engines

The DS was originally designed around a and air-cooled flat six based on the design of the 2-cylinder engine of the 2CV, similar to the engine in the Porsche 911 . Technical issues and monetary forced this idea to be discarded.

Therefore, for a car that is so modern, the engine of the original DS 19 was also old. It was derived from the engine of the 11CV Traction Avant (models 11B and 11C). It was an OHV four-cylinder engine with three main bearings and cylinder water jackets, and a diameter of 78 mm (3,1 in) and a stroke of 100 mm (3.9 inches), giving a displacement volume of 1911 cc. The cylinder head had been reworked; the 11C had a casting of the cylinder head of iron from reverse flow and generated 60 hp (45 kW) at 3800 rpm; by contrast, the DS 19 had a cross-flow cylinder head of aluminium with hemispherical combustion chambers and generated 75 HP (56 kW) at 4500 rpm. Apart from these details, there was very little difference between the engines: even the locations of the bolts of the cylinder head is the same, so that it was possible to put the cylinder head of a DS on an engine of the Traction Avant and run it

Like the Traction Avant, the DS had the gearbox mounted in the front of the engine, with the differential in the middle. As well, some consider the DS to be a front-wheel-drive mid-engine car. Initially had a gear box of four speeds, and clutch, operated by a driver, hydraulic. To change gears, the driver threw a lever behind the steering wheel to the next position and eased up on the accelerator pedal. The controller, hydraulic disengaged the clutch, engaged the gear-nominated, and re-engage the clutch.

The DS motors and ID have evolved throughout its production life of 20 years. The car was underpowered and faced constant mechanical changes to increase the performance of the four-cylinder engine. The initial cc 1911 three main bearing engine (carried over from the Traction Avant ) of the DS 19 was replaced in 1965 with the 1985 cc five-leading engine wet cylinder, becoming the 19th DS (called DS 20 from September 1969).

The DS 21 was also introduced for model year 1965, which was a 2175 cc, five main engine bearing. This engine received a substantial increase in power with the introduction of Bosch electronic fuel injection for 1970, making the DS one of the first cars of the mass market to use electronic fuel injection. Power of the version with carburetor also increased slightly, at the same time, due to the use of intake valves are larger.

Finally, 1973 saw the introduction of the dc motor 2347 of the DS 23 in both carbureted and fuel injection. The DS 23 with electronic fuel injection was the production model most powerful, that produces 141 horsepower (105 kW).

Ids and their variants went through a similar evolution, generally being the DS for about a year. Models saloon and ID never received the engine or fuel injection DS 23, although the break / versions Automobile received the version of carburation of the engine DS 23, when it was introduced, complemented the DS20 Break / Automobile.

The top model of the range ID, The DSuper5 (DP) won the engine DS21 (the only model that this engine was retained in) for the model year 1973, and that was mated to a gearbox 5-speed. This should not be confused with the 1985cc DSuper fitted with a "low ratio" 5 gearbox optional speed or with the DS21M above (DJ) 5-speed.

The DS was offered initially only with the "hydraulique" 4-speed semi-automatic (bvh- "boîte de vitesses hydraulique") gearbox. The most simple and later ID19 had the same gearbox and clutch, operated manually. This configuration is offered as a cheaper option for the DS in 1963 In September 1970 Citroën introduced a 3-speed fully automatic Borg-Warner and a five-speed manual gearbox, in addition to the unit four-speed original. The transmission full-automatic were destined for the U.s. market, but as Citroën withdrew from the US in 1972, the year of largest sales in the united States, due to the rules of circulation constrictive, DSs more automatic, DS 23 sedans with air conditioning with fuel injection sold in Australia.

Headlights directional

Directional headlamps were introduced as an option on the DS in September 1967 (standard on the model Pallas) for the first time on a Citroën. Behind each lens, cover glass, the inside of the headlights light the road tour for a maximum of 80 ° as the steers of drivers, throwing the beam along the trajectory desired by the driver, and not in vain through the curved road. The headlights of cruising outboard are self-leveling in response to pitching caused by acceleration and braking.