Citroën DS 19 Walkaround

The article "The Citroën DS 19: Why It's the Ultimate Classic Car" in the Wall Street Journal's 1 May 2015 issue, has the subhead "The Citroën DS is technically unsurpassed, completely inimitable, has a great back story and is the most beautiful car of all time, writes Dan Neil."  Dan Neil was the Journal's automobile columnist.

Me?  I remember when I first read about the DS 19, probably in Road&Track, my go-to car magazine in those days, I thought the design was weird.  Okay, I was young then.  Inexperienced.  But nowadays?   I still do not like the DS 19 design.

The Wikipedia entry on the DS is here.  In 2013 I posted "Flaminio Bertoni of Citroën: Not a Bertone," link here.  Bertoni was in charge of Citroën styling when the DS was designed.  His Wikipedia entry in English is here, while the more comprehanesive French version is here.

In that post I wrote:

"The DS is harder for me to pin down.   I can appreciate it intellectually, but was never fond of the styling.   The defects are related to what stylists call the "greenhouse," the windows-and-roof area.  To me, it always seemed too spindly, insubstantial -- that due to the thin door posts.   At a more general level, this wispy upper area contrasted too greatly with the rather thick, heavy lower body, thereby destroying unity of the whole.  The brake lights at the rear of the roof also struck me as being too contrived a solution to a fairly minor potential problem."

Putting brake lights high is a potential safety factor.  For many years here in the States car regulations require a supplemental brake light mounted high.  But are they actually brake lights as I thought when writing that earlier post?  An image below shows the lenses as amber color -- so more likely, they're turn-indicator lights.  Regardless of function, it's just that their design on the DS looks tacked-on, not integral, as you'll see below.

As for that wispy, insubstantial greenhouse mentioned in the quotation above, indeed the structure seems to be sketchy.  There's an image below dealing with that.

Gallery images of a 1958 Citroën DS 19 are via Bring a Trailer Auctions.

Gallery

The contrast between the greenhouse and lower body is evident here.  The latter is proportionally low, especially for the 1950s.  Side sculpting amounts to a crease: no chrome aside from the trim on the rocker panel, and that was absent from many early DS 19s.  The front fenders are high, probably due to headlight height regulations.  They quickly fade away on the front doors.

I don't have a source for this phantom view.  Note that the roof support pillars are topped by a metal ring.  The roof itself, according to a DS 19 brochure: "reinforced plastic roof confers strength and rigidity."  I do not know if DS 19s were rollover-tested before regular production was launched.  But I suspect that they would not meet current safety standards.

Bertoni's preliminary sketches indicate that he was interested in creating a somewhat airfoil-like profile.  Subject, of course, to engineering and packaging considerations.  I suppose the front fenders have a peak located above the front axle line, but it's a pretty subtle peak.  A little more curve would be nice.

Like the Citroën Traction-avants, the roofline and beltlines fall off towards the rear -- a French thing for many years.  Also perhaps an airfoil suggestion.

The lower rear end detailing is cluttered, unlike most of the rest of the car.

Note how the roof-mounted turn-indicator light seems tacked-on, not integral.  The conical housing is the main problem here.

The beltline blends into the rear fender profile.  That large C-pillar is necessary for the transition to the curved backlight window.  Though a six-window scheme also could have worked. 

Frontal design, unlike the rear, is simple.

The most commented-on item when DS 19s first appeared was the one-spoke steering wheel.

Citroën DS Successors

I suppose a typical non-French car buff would be aware of three historical Citroën models: the Traction Avant launched in the 1930s, the small, postwar 2 CV, and the DS produced 1955-1975.

The stylist responsible for the DS was Flaminio Bertoni (1903-1964).  Upon his death he was succeeded as styling chief by Robert Opron (born 1932) who in 1975 left Citroën when it was acquired by Peugeot.  Over his career he also worked for Simca, Renault and Fiat.

Opron's major projects at Citroën were the GS produced 1970-1986, and the CX produced 1974-1991. Another design of interest from that period was the SM (1970-1975), a DS follow-on powered by a Maserati motor.

Today's post presents some images of the DS, SM, GS and CX to provide an introduction to Opron and his Citroën styling language.  However, note that Opron's designs were created within a few years of one another during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Unless noted, the photos below are factory-sourced images.

Gallery

1956 Citroën DS 19
Bertoni's design, radical in its day.

1973 Citroën DS Pallas - auction photo
A fairly late DS with facelifting styled under Opron's direction.

1972 Citroën SM - Bonhams auction photo
A new design, Opron retained the feeling of the DS.  The main differences were the passenger compartment greenhouse and rear fender treatment.  Similarities include the smooth sides and the wheel openings (or lack thereof at the rear).

Citroën GS
The DS was a four-window sedan and Opron's GS has six windows.  Sides are plain aside from a character line shoulder-high.  Carried over from the DS is the round front wheel opening, while the rear wheels are only partly skirted.

Citroën GS
Rear quarter view showing the considerable glass area.  The GS was lower-priced than the DS, intended to fill a market category lower than the increasingly expensive DS line.

Citroën CX
The CX was the DS replacement.  Its window treatment is similar to that of the GS.  Smooth sides and wheel opening treatments are not far removed from those on Bertoni's original DS 19s.

Citroën CX - for sale photo
Front quarter view.  Unmistakably a Citroën -- those chevrons on the grille were hardly needed.

Early Postwar New and Redesigned French Cars

France has been remarkably resilient economically following its wars.  Most recently were les années Trente Glorieuses 1945-1975.  (Recall that France was defeated by Germany in a six-week campaign in 1940.  Germany and Italy occupied parts of the country and the rest was ruled by a puppet state that the Germans eventually occupied.  In 1944 the country again became a battleground following Allied invasions.)

One instance of rapid postwar recovery was the automobile sector where the leading carmakers were able to introduce redesigned versions of pervious models or entirely new models by late 1948.

The 3 October 1946 Salon de l'Automobile de Paris saw the introduction of the totally new Renault 4 CV and Panhard Dyna, both small, entry-level cars.  Then the 7 October 1948 show featured the Citroën 2 CV minimal car, the low-mid range Peugeot 203, and the new Ford Vedette priced around 20 percent higher.

Gallery

1949 Renault 4 CV
French car buyers strongly preferred their sedans to have four doors -- even for small, rear-engines models such as the 4 CV.  Frontal design is similar to 1941-vintage American practice.  The lengthy front fender was of the same concept as 1942 General Motors cars, though the door hinge was on the B-pillar for simplification reasons.

Rear styling was closer to late 1930s practice.

Publicity photo: the models provide a sense of the car's size.

1947 Panhard Dyna
The Dyna had conventional engine placement.  The body design is 1930s -- flat windshield, distinct, separate fenders, headlights not integrated with the car's body.  Again, models provide scale.

Rear styling was also prewar.

1948 Citroën 2 CV - Bonhams auction photo
Citroën's 2 CV was essentially designed with engineering considerations foremost.  As best I can tell, head stylist Flaminio Bertoni had little or no design input.

Rear quarter view, image via IMCDb.org.  Small though it was, the 2 CV had four doors.

1949 Peugeot 203 - Netherlands auction photo
The 203 carried a 1942 American look.  And the front end looks similar to that of the Renault.  Again, B-pillar door hinging.

But the 203 wasn't a mini-car, so the styling seems pleasant, albeit not distinctive or exciting.

1949 Ford Vedette - for sale photos
The Vedette's body was originally intended to be for a small, 1949 Ford.  Ernest Breech thought the large Ford design was too large, so that body was used on 1949 Mercurys and some '49 Lincoln models.  The tooling for the small Ford was sent to France for use on the Vedette, and a new design for '49 Fords was initiated.  It seems that details such as the Vedette's grille and bumpers were designed in France.

Door hinging was on the A and C pillars.  Note the fenderline designed by Ford's styling boss Bob Gregorie.

1949 Mercury
That fenderline was to be used on both small and large 1949 Fords, the latter becoming the Mercury shown here and the small Lincoln.

1930s French Drooping Beltlines

Once upon a time, say 50 or more years ago, the automobile industry was much less international than now.  Car manufacturing countries often had tariffs to protect domestic firms and each country had its own currency and exchange rates relative to others.  And there might have been cultural factors that led to cars having distinctive national visual tendencies.  American cars looked American, English cars English, and so on.

One distinctive design quirk for many French cars from 1934 to the early 1950s was beltines (that run along the lower edges of side windows) that drooped or fell off downwards towards cars' aft ends.

Most French brands did not have this characteristic.  But the country's "big three" car makers -- Citroën, Renault and Peugeot -- had models with just that touch.  So many French cars' beltlines drooped.

Most of the images below are factory sourced or are of cars for sale.

Gallery

1934 Citroën 7 A
A very early Citroën Traction Avant.  This popular car and its larger 11 CV sibling were the first mass-produced French cars with the lazy beltline, as best I can tell.

1954 Citroën 11 B Familiale, auction photo
Six-window cars were longer and made the effect more noticeable.  One thing I do not know is why it appeared in the first place.

1936 Peugeot 402 Longues
Once Citroën launched the style, it was adopted by its main competitors, as can be seen on this six-window Peugeot.

1937 Renault Viva Grand Sport
And on this Renault.

1937 Delage Berline
A few other brands fell in with the dropping beltline fashion, including some exclusive Delage models such as this one.

1939 Hotchkiss Modane Coupé, Bonhams photo
The French seem to prefer four-door cars.  But this two-door Hotchkiss, low-production that it was, also followed the fashion in a stubby way.

1932 Fiat 508 Balilla / 1937 Fiat 1100

A popular 1930s Fiat line was called the "Balilla," or model number 508.  Somewhat retroactively there were the 508 A (1932-1934), 508 B (1934-1937) and 508 C (1937-1953), though the latter quickly became the first version of the Fiat 1100 and lost the Balilla name.  This post deals with he styling of Balillas from 1932 to 1939.  The Wikipedia entry for 508 A and B is here, and that for the C/1100 is here.

Balilla styling was never innovative, unlike a number of 1930s creations by Italian carrozzeria.  For that reason, I choose to compare some Balillas with contemporary cars that had similar details.  Most of the images below seem to be factory-generated publicity photos.

Gallery

This is a 1932 Ford V8 Deluxe Tudor, the only major American redesign for that model year.

And here is a 1932 Fiat 508 Balilla, also new for that year.  The Balilla carried a number of details that were old-fashioned compared to the Ford.  Its grille is flat, rather than slightly V'd.  There is a fixed exterior sunshade atop the windshield, a feature common in the 1920s.  And its general feeling is also that of a rather angular 1920s car.

A 1935 508 B in a "for sale" photo.  Its facelifted styling is behind the times compared to the 1935 USA norm.  Here the windshield is raked back slightly and the sunshade is gone.  The grille also tilts back and is more sculpted than the '32 version.   Front fenders are reshaped, carrying side skirts and extending farther downwards at the front.  Rear fenders have a touch of skirting.

1937 508 C Balilla, a complete redesign.  Note the detailing on the aft part of the passenger compartment greenhouse.

And compare it to this 1935 Ford Tudor.  It's possible the Ford inspired whoever styled the Balilla.

On the other hand, the Citroën 7 A appeared in the Spring of 1934, also having the same sort of sculpting in the area of the C-pillar.  Actually, that could be found on 1933 Ford two-door sedans, though on a more vertical greenhouse aft end, so it's difficult to determined who originated and who copied..

Another 1937 508 C.  Here we focus on the front end, its sloped hood-grille ensemble specifically.

The Balilla design might well have been inspired by the hood/grille of the 1936 Peugeot 302, shorn here.

The Peugeot 302 had a comparatively long hood, but the 1938 Peugeot 202 was a smaller car, more in line with the Fiat 1100's proportions.

Fiat 508 C / 1100 cars got a facelift for 1939, as can be seen in tis image from Fiat's Centro Storico (Historical Center).  As usual, the styling lags a few years, the grille being similar to what American cars were wearing around 1937.  It did change the character of the design, which was what must have been intended.

First and Last: Citroën Traction Avant

Citroën's Traction Avant (front wheel drive) series was in production from 1934 into 1957 with some time out during World War 2.  Over that span, there were three basic models.  The entry-level was the 7 CV (tax horsepower), the main version was the 11 CV, both models powered by four cylinder motors, and a six-cylinder 15 CV.  There were three major sedan body styles: a short four-window sedan, a somewhat longer four-window sedan and a long six-window sedan.  There also were coupés, cabriolets, and sedans with commercial vehicle features among the lesser types.

Over the long (for its time) production run, Traction Avant styling changed little.  When researching this post, I found a number of images on the internet whose model year identifications were wrong -- in at least one case, it was off by more than ten years!  Which is why the model year identifications below need to be taken with caution; I tried my best given the sources in my library, but I could easily be off by a few years.  Citroën mavens should feel free to provide corrections in comments.

Gallery

Citroën 7A of 1934 or 1935.  For 1936 grill frame brightwork was eliminated and headlights received curved lenses.

A 1934 vintage 11 CV coupé.

This 1936 11 CV seems to be a factory test car; note the lack of horn grilles and grille medallion.

A 1939 11 BL (B Légère -- short body).

By 1947, Citroën Traction Avants had louvres on their hoods rather than doors.  Headlight assemblies are painted rather than chromed.

Here is a 15 CV from 1952.  The 15s can be distinguished by the convex shaping of their grilles.

This 1955 11 CV exemplifies Citroën Traction Avant styling the year the new DS line appeared.  Horizontal front bumpers were on 11 CVs in 1951 and on 15 CVS the year before.

And in 1957 the final Traction Avant, an 11 CV, left the production line.