Close window
Print details

Citroen DS21 EFi

Citroen DS21 EFi

Click Here for Full Screen Image - Click Here to Download Image

Citroen DS21 EFiCitroen DS21 EFiCitroen DS21 EFiCitroen DS21 EFiCitroen DS21 EFi
Citroen DS21 EFiCitroen DS21 EFiCitroen DS21 EFiCitroen DS21 EFiCitroen DS21 EFi
Citroen DS21 EFiCitroen DS21 EFiCitroen DS21 EFiCitroen DS21 EFiCitroen DS21 EFi
Citroen DS21 EFiCitroen DS21 EFiCitroen DS21 EFiCitroen DS21 EFi
Lot number 126
Hammer value £29,000
Description Citroen DS21 EFi
Registration DRS 372K
Year 1971
Colour Anthracite Metallic
Engine size 2,175 cc
Chassis No. DSFB01FB4343
Engine No. DY30581002311
Documents V5C; MOT July 2016; invoices; handbooks; photos

Exactly 60 years ago, an alien spaceship descended to earth and landed in the ornate Belle Epoque Grand Palais on the recently renamed Avenue du General Eisenhower.

Or so it must have seemed to the shell-shocked residents of one of Europe’s greatest capital cities, still reeling from a cataclysmic war which had cost millions of lives and destroyed much that they held dear. The most radical machine yet to appear in the 70-year history of the motorcar, the DS caused an absolute sensation when it was unveiled in 1955, offering a glimpse of a braver, brighter future in a world still labouring under drab post-war rations and restrictions.

A quantum leap for car design with its futuristic looks, amazing hydro-pneumatic technology and other far-reaching innovations, 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. As late as 2009 it was voted “most beautiful car of all time” by a panel of 20 world famous designers including Giorgetto Giugiaro, Paul Bracq, Ian Callum and Leonardo Fioravanti. So right was the initial concept that it remained in production substantially unaltered for two decades.

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 and the swivelling headlights on some models.

The power units were carried over from the Traction Avant and were not quite as ‘state of the art’, but the whole driving experience was so fantastic that it was an instant hit. On the day 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 almost equally appealing 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 automatically adjusted the beam to take account of the change in aspect of the car under acceleration and braking.

This breath-taking 1971 DS21 Injection Electronique with rare 5-speed manual transmission has had just three owners from new, the first of whom kept it at his home in Albi, Southern France, right up until 2000. It then had two further Dutch owners, the second of whom has lavished tens of thousands of Euros on what was already a fine car in his pursuit of DS perfection.

Every aspect of this car has been obsessively renewed, refurbished and improved and it looks as good underneath as it does it does up top. The Anthracite Metallic panels and black roof gleam following a bare metal repaint, while the retrimmed blue cloth interior looks showroom fresh and is set off wonderfully by the green tinted glass. Gradulux rear blinds and shimmering stainless steel trim enhance the sci-fi glamour.

To keep everything looking good for years to come, the car has had a Jan Van Egmond Dinitrol rust-prevention treatment costing 1,200 Euros, using endoscope cameras to make sure that every inch gets treated. Running on Michelin XVS tyres with 123 electronic ignition, it is said to drive superbly with an MOT until September 2016 and completed a tour of Germany earlier this summer with no problems whatsoever. Recently UK registered as DRS 372K, it comes with its original Philips radio and all its tools, Cobra immobiliser, handbooks, service books, V5C, bills and photos of work undertaken etc. 

Certainly the best DS we have ever offered in a decade of hosting these sales, you could not hope to turn an average example into a show-stopper like this for the guide price suggested today. And given that another immaculate DS made over double this estimate at auction earlier this year, you could even call it a bargain!

AMENDMENT; Bidders are advised that this vehicle has had four owners and not three owners from new as catalogued.

Close window
Print details