Citroen DS Price Guide

The Citroën DS is the most technically extraordinary car ever offered for public sale. When it appeared at the 1955 Paris Salon, the queue to see it stretched around the block and 749 were ordered in the first hour. The hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension, the automatic gearbox operated by a single-spoke steering wheel button, the swivelling headlamps, the disc brakes, all in a body by Flaminio Bertoni that looks as fresh today as it did in 1955. Roland Barthes called it “a great epoch of consumption” and compared it to a Gothic cathedral. He was right.

The Car

The DS used the Traction Avant’s 1,911cc four-cylinder in the original cars, growing through 1,985cc and 2,175cc iterations. The DSuper and DSuper5 used 2,347cc. The SM-derived fuel-injected 2,175cc and 2,347cc engines of the final DS 23 were the most powerful. The hydropneumatic system controlled ride height, suspension, steering, brakes, and gearchange through a single high-pressure hydraulic circuit using LHM fluid. This is a system of such complexity that Citroën issued detailed training to garages. Without hydraulic pressure the car cannot move. With correct hydraulic pressure it rides and handles unlike anything else built before or since.

What Goes Wrong

The hydraulic system is the DS’s defining maintenance challenge. LHM fluid must be used; never mineral oil, which destroys the seals. Hydraulic spheres lose nitrogen pressure over time and must be checked and recharged regularly. The main hydraulic pump pressure should be verified. Sphere condition is the most important single indicator of a well-maintained DS. Rust attacks the sills, floor, and front wings. The single-piece fibreglass roof cannot be repaired so a cracked roof is a major problem.

Buying

Join the Citroën Car Club DS section and engage a specialist before buying anything. The DS’s hydraulic system rewards correct maintenance and punishes neglect spectacularly. The ID uses the same system in a simplified, more affordable package. The Citroën DS is the finest car France ever produced.