Citroen DS23 Pallas EFI

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Launched onto an unsuspecting public in 1955, the Citroen DS was an overnight sensation that had the whole world gasping at its futuristic looks, amazing hydro-pneumatic technology and other far-reaching innovations.

A quantum leap for car design, it still ranks as one of the greatest industrial designs of all time and even today, cars as technologically sophisticated as this are few and far between. So right was the initial concept that it remained in production substantially unaltered until 1975.

The hydro-pneumatic self-levelling suspension had first been tried on the top-of-the-range Traction Avant. It used clever nitrogen filled spheres and hydraulic oil (rather than water as its name might suggest) and through a system of valves and pumps kept the car at a constant height, giving fully independent suspension and effective damping all at the same time. As if this wasn’t clever enough, the hydraulic pressure was used to power all sorts of things, from the brakes to the steering - even assisting with the gearchange on some models.

But what really catapulted the DS onto the front page of every newspaper were the futuristic good looks. Designed by a sculptor and an aeronautical engineer, the slippery shape looked (and still looks) totally ‘Dan Dare’ compared to literally everything else on the market. As late as 2009 it was voted 'most beautiful car of all time' by a panel of 20 world famous car designers including Giorgetto Giugiaro, Paul Bracq, Ian Callum and Leonardo Fioravanti.

The power units were carried over from the Traction Avant and so were not quite as ‘state of the art’, but the whole driving experience was so fantastic that it was an instant hit. On day one of its debut, more than 12,000 orders were taken, confirming that the bravery of the management to introduce such a technological ‘tour de force’ was fully justified.

Remaining in production until the arrival of the technically similar and equally radically styled CX in 1975, late model DS versions gained bigger more powerful engines, while adding yet more unconventional items such as headlights which turned with the steering wheel and automatic beam adjustment on the outer pair of headlights, taking account of the change in aspect of the car when accelerating and braking.

First registered in August 1975, this last-of-the-line DS has the biggest and best engine, the fuel-injected 2,347cc unit that produced 141bhp and gave the car the performance that it had always deserved, being happy to thunder along in top gear at 115mph all day long.

Not much is known about the history of the car but it has had just five keepers according to the V5C, the last owning it since 1989. An old tax disc would imply that it was last on the road in 2005 and it has spent the last few years outdoors under a sheet.

Now in need of substantial restoration, we are informed that it does still run and the suspension does still rise and fall. A luxury Pallas model in original right-hand drive, it is finished in silver with a brown leather interior and has a semi-automatic column-shift 5-speed manual gearbox. It comes with various old MOTs, a workshop manual and a spares catalogue.

So much more than just a means of transport, any DS is a fascinating machine on many levels (technical, aesthetic and cultural) and this rare RHD example will no doubt keep its new owner happily entranced while they get to grips with the task of returning it to roadworthy condition.