Divine Design

CITROËN DS & ID 1955 – 1975

CIP data

Author: Chris Bronkhorst

Title: Divine Design, Citroën DS & ID 1955 – 1975

Location: Utrecht (NL), 2025

335 pages, 22 × 24 cm

ISBN: 978-90-834758-5-1

First (Dutch) edition: April 2023

Second (French) edition: December 2024

Third (English) edition: 2025

Theme and keywords

WGCB - Citroën (automobiles); History

Layout

Kees-Jan Smit

Translation

Julian Marsh

Foreword

Creators of the DS

The introduction of the DS19

La Bombe strikes

The hydraulic system

Bodywork of the DS & ID

La Berline

La Prestige

Le Break

Le Cabriolet

The DS in its historic context

Evolution of the DS & ID

Assembly for foreign markets

Assembly in Belgium – Forest

Assembly in the UK – Slough

Assembly in South Africa

Assembly in Australia

Assembly in Portugal, Spain and Mexico

USA adjustments for local market

Italy local adjustments

Scandinavia local adjustments

Publicity DS & ID

1955 – 1959: Puech

1960 – 1975: Delpire

Publicity and Graphic Design

The image-makers

Brochure Lines

Brochures for the Netherlands and Belgium

UK Brochures

Brochures Africa

Brochures USA and Canada

Brochures Italy

Brochures Scandinavia

DS Metaphors

Colour charts

Inventory references brochures

France - Export

Author’s Bio

Sources

Copyrights

Thank you...

The Architect of the DS19

André Lefebvre

1894 – 1964

Lefebvre is seen as the architect – of the DS19. He significantly stamped his mark on the structure of the DS19. He was an engineer trained at the École Supérieure d’Aéronautique in Paris. After working for aircraft manufacturer Gabriel Voisin and engineer Louis Renault, he was able to distil all his ideas about the ideal car into Citroën from 1933.

He focused on the construction of the chassis, a sturdy platform, and a lightweight structure. Thanks to the carte blanche from Boulanger and Bercot, Lefebvre could amply apply his experience with aircraft construction in the VGD project. This included designing

a very stable car thanks to, among other things, a low centre of gravity with most of the weight on the front axle combined with front-wheel drive, and a long wheelbase. Also groundbreaking was the aerodynamically shaped, lightweight body construction, as a structure on the platform chassis. From wide and high at the front to narrow and low at the rear. Even the floorpan had to comply with the laws of aerodynamics: as smooth as possible to prevent air turbulence. And the boot floor slightly sloping upwards to create more downward pressure than upward pressure at high speeds. Compare this to the operation of an airplane wing. Also borrowed from the aviation world was the use of hydraulics for operating various mechanical components such as suspension, brakes, steering, clutch, and gearchange.

The choice of disc brakes also came from Lefebvre and his team. Disc brakes were an innovation at that time, but in this case they were also placed alongside the gearbox instead of in the front wheels. The major advantage of this was the lower unsprung weight of the wheel, allowing the wheel to react faster to road irregularities. This meant better contact between the tyre and the road surface.

The idea to make the rear track width 1300 mm (51.2 in) and the front track width 1500 mm (59 in) and to use a smaller tyre size at the rear not only made a more streamlined body possible. It also improved manoeuvrability and increased directional stability (straight-line driving). This stability was also contributed to by the ‘centre point’ steering by which the pivot point was aligned with the centre of the tyre contact point on the road surface and of course the front wheel drive, which

pulled the DS through the corner, instead of ‘putting the cart before the horse’ and pushing the whole thing.

The proof was provided in 1962. In an assassination attempt on General De Gaulle in Le Petit Clamart, the right rear tyre was shot out. However, his DS was able to maintain its trajectory without reducing speed, thanks to the hydraulics, and thus bring “mon Général” to safety.

2.1 La Bombe strikes

On the morning of Thursday, 6 October 1955, at the Salon de l’Auto in Paris, the successor to the Traction Avant, the Citroën DS19, was unveiled. This car set new standards in the automotive world in terms of technology and body design, leaving its competition far behind. Only now did it become fully apparent why the DS19 was dubbed “La Bombe Citroën” by l’Auto-journal on September 15, 1955. At that time, and even now in 2025, it was - as we would call it - a truly revolutionary design, both technically and in terms of styling and was worthy of the sobriquet “La Déesse” (The Goddess).

In the memory of G.P. Berk, who visited the 42nd Salon de l’Auto in Paris on October 6th, there were prominently displayed on Citroën’s large stand a cream-coloured DS19 with an aubergine-coloured, almost black roof, and a grass-green model with a cream-colored roof. The presence of a black model with a cream-colored roof on the stand may have escaped his notice due to the hustle and bustle.

Original film footage from the 1955 Salon and special bonus material. Thanks to Dr. Danche.

3.3 The Break

In October 1959 (model year 1960) the Break (estate car) - and its variants - were added to the lineup. One volume for the engine and one volume for the seating compartment and the luggage space creating a twovolume vehicle. The first official photos provided by Citroën, as well as the initial flyers, featured images of the Break from the pre-series. The pre-series is characterised by, among other things, the lower cutout of the rear wheel arch, black window frames, and a taillight assembly where the taillights are not recessed but sit on the surface. The Break was apparently still in full development. Model names were not yet fixed; in fact, there was confusion, as we will see later.

This QR code will take you to the part of the website www.nuancierds.fr that goes much deeper into the pre-series of the Break.

Press photo of a pre-series Break

The four ‘flyers’ with the pre-series Break and its variants. Respectively, break - commerciale - familialeambulance

The main features of the Break variants were:

Break: fixed rear bench and two strapontins (foldable seats) recessed in the rear floor.

Familiale: fixed rear bench placed further back with three strapontins between the front and rear benches. As a result, the luggage space was significantly reduced. However, this flyer incorrectly depicted the layout of the Break. This confusion was also created by Citroën itself at the 1958 Salon.

Please note the taillight fixtures.

Commerciale: fixed front bench and foldable rear bench. However, the same fixed rear bench as on the Break version is seen in the illustration. Unlike the Break, it does not have the two strapontins recessed in the rear area.

Ambulance: fixed front bench, partially foldable rear bench (2/3 - 1/3). In the pre-series of the ambulance, the stretcher was located on the right side. The production version has the stretcher to the left of the 1/3 rear bench.

6.2 Assembly in the UK – Slough

In 1925, Citroën started assembling the Citroën B12 in Slough to the west of London – the company’s first foreign factory. The last Traction assembled in Slough rolled off the production line in September 1955. However, it wasn’t until June 1956 that the first DS19 was produced. This delay was due to the transition from Traction to DS19 taking some time. The Traction assembly line had to be dismantled. New spray booths and curing ovens had to be installed, and a special dust-free laboratory had to be built for the hydraulic

A photo impression from the brochure celebrating 35 years of Citroën assembly in Slough (1960). The necessary typical British components, paint, upholstery, finishing, and instruments were sourced from British suppliers.

components of the DS19. This alone took 8 months. Cars were assembled on a large scale in Slough and were destined for the internal market and for export to other countries that drive on the left like Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, etc.

Spot the Differences

Lighting from Lucas: headlights, parking light on the

here) different taillight fixtures. Although the pre-series Break was presented at the 1958 Salon, the definitive version that went into production was presented a year later: the official introduction of the ID19 Break for the 1960 model year took place at the 1959 Salon.

New Double Chevron logo

On April 14, 1959, the new Citroën logo was presented. It built upon the Double Chevron tradition, but much more sharply designed with sharp points and 3D effect on the chevrons themselves. Remarkably, this presentation was late. The first brochure from 1955 depicts this Double Chevron on the penultimate page, and there is also one affixed to the glove compartment lid. Nonetheless, it was still a nice publicity moment.

1911 - 1998

In the late 1950s, Maus Gatsonides generated considerable publicity for Citroën by setting several fuel efficiency records. This highlighted a good feature of the ID19 to the public. He achieved these feats in a Citroën IDéal19. A rally driver, car designer and builder, inventor, fuel efficiency maniac, etc., Gatsonides was

Maus Gatsonides

The same Break in the same location but in full colour: Ecaille Blonde (AC306)

undeniably a very versatile person with a warm heart for Citroën. Hence, he receives special attention in this chapter.

Gatsonides was 21 when he came to the Netherlands from Java. After being rejected for pilot training, he started his own garage business. During World War II, he developed Gazogènes (gas generators) for cars at his garage.

At the age of 24, in 1936, Maus registered for the Monte Carlo Rally for the first time. He participated in multiple rallies until the war, including the Monte Carlo Rally (7 times, twice after the war), Liège-Rome-Liège (4 times), and various other rallies.

1958

Economy Run:

over the finish line? But definitely taking the first place!

Caltex

Pushed

Secondly, they opted for striking typography. From the arrival of the second nose in September 1962, they only placed the letters “ds” and “id” prominently on the cover.

This was in a typeface that closely resembles Thorowgood by Robert Thorne (1754–1820). What’s special about it is that it consists of serif letters made up of both bold parts and very thin lines. As a result, it’s less suitable for long texts in terms of readability but is all the more suitable for making headlines or attracting

attention and for denoting type names consisting of two letters.

The typeface also reappeared in the interiors of the brochures to label headlines and subheads.

By coincidence in 1960, this typeface had already been used on the cover of a Swiss DS brochure.

Often, contrast was sought by combining large type designations with additions that were printed very small. See the red Citroën Breaks brochure in attachment 1, page 298. [check page number] It wasn’t until 1968 that photographs would be used more frequently on the covers again. Switzerland, 1960

Finally, text and photos often formed a single entity, complementing each other to create a complete picture. Spreads were frequently used, where the image from an open brochure or leaflet on the left page continued onto the right page. For instance, in 1962, under Delpire’s commission, the Englishman Philip Hartley produced the first batch of second-nose DS brochures, combining

photos and texts into complete images to express the streamlined design, comfort, and front-wheel drive. Typography, ample whitespace, dynamic text flow, and contrasts between large and small letters were utilised. Each page thus conveyed the message through movement and dynamism. These series of brochures for the DS and ID were only replaced for the 1966 model year.

On 6 October 1955, the Citroën DS19 was introduced in Paris. History repeats itself: 21 years after the introduction of the Traction Avant, another groundbreaking, but not yet production-ready Citroën appeared.

ISBN 978-90-834758-5-1

Once production was in full swing, the DS became an indispensable part of the street scene, even after the last car rolled off the assembly line after 20 years of production.

The DS and the DNA of its Divine Design live on with subsequent generations and fascinate many of them. This book to look at, read and browse offers something for everyone: historical information, fun (new) and inspiring facts and an abundance of beautiful photos from brochures and private collections. The content will also amaze and delight the ultimate DS connoisseur.