Stephen Bayley on the Citroen DS

From architecture to religion, philosophy to sculpture; the ever-so-70s Citroen DS 21 car covers all the bases says Britain's leading design guru.

By Stephen Bayley on Wednesday 23rd November, 2011

The Citroen DS was the most astonishing production car ever seen. It would astonish still if launched today. Appearing at the Paris Salon de l’Automobile as a prototype in 1955, it shocked the crowds and inspired the philosophe-boulevardier Roland Barthes to write ones of his greatest essays. He describes the new Citroen as “the very essence of petit-bourgeois advancement”.

It was, indeed, a masterpiece of industrial design: luxury democratised and machinery made beautiful. In this rare decapotable version, new technology met traditional coachbuilding. By the 50s the market for sumptuous one-off automobiles had disappeared, so the old carrosserie of Henri Chapron, which made its reputation with superb Delayhayes and Delages, turned its attention to the popular Citroen.

The story began in 1938 when Citroen’s chief engineer, Pierre Boulanger, briefed his team: “Study all the possibilities, including the impossible” he said. Boulanger was killed in 1950 while testing the car, but the objectives had been established. The voiture de grand diffusion was to be “the world’s most beautiful, most comfortable and most advanced car”. It was a project of national significance “to show the world that…..that France could develop the ultimate vehicle”.

The body was drawn by Flaminio Bertoni, an Italian sculptor who had exhibited with the Futurists and Surrealists. Technical innovations included a plastic roof, an automatic clutch, self-levelling suspension and power brakes running off a unique high-pressure hydraulic system. The ride and comfort were as unsurpassed as its beauty was unprecedented.

First shown without wheels so the perception of its sculpture was uncompromised, the DS was called an objet superlatif and was described as the exaltation of glass. “Smoothness” Barthes wrote “is always an attribute of perfection”. If you pronounce “DS” the French way, it sounds like “goddess”. As if to confirm the religious associations, Barthes said “cars today are our cathedrals”. True. People worship this Citroen.

So here is a car as architecture. Le Corbusier said a house is a machine for living in: the Citroen DS is a house for travelling in.

Stephen Bayley is a British design critic, author and co-founder of the Design Museum who has written for titles such as the FT, The Observer, GQ and the New Statesman. He is a regular contributor to Vintage Seekers.