1972 Citroen DS20/5 *Sold £12,200*

Description

• Very solid South African Import
• Full interior restoration
• With two sets of keys and the original import documentation
• Just 8,700 miles since 2015
• Full service in June 2022

The Citroën DS or Déesse (goddess), was an executive car produced by the French manufacturer Citroën between 1955 and 1975. Styled by the Italian sculptor and industrial designer Flaminio Bertoni and the French aeronautical engineer André Lefèbvre, the Citroën DS was known for its aerodynamic futuristic body design and innovative technology, including hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension. 

The  Citroën DS advanced achievable standards in automobile ride quality, handling, and braking. The manufacturer sold nearly 1.5 million D-series during the model’s 20-year production run. The DS came third in the 1999 Car of the Century competition, recognizing the world’s most influential auto designs, and was named the most beautiful car of all time by Classic & Sports Car magazine. 

Now sought after and rising in price yearly we are excited to offer this very solid late example Citroën DS at Evoke Classics.  

History 

Our vendor has owned this Citroën DS since 2017, purchasing the car from the Citroën DS specialist “French Classics” based in Fawkham, Kent.  Originally imported from South Africa, it was recommissioned and sold to its only previous owner.  As ever with imported cars, the history is not extensive prior to its arrival in the UK but it does have a decent file since its arrival. 

With two sets of keys, the V5 in our vendors name, the original SA export documentation and all its UK history in an A4 file there is enough provenance to show that this Citroën DS has been well cared for in the last six years.  Our vendor has even found electronic copies of the owners and workshop manuals. 

Having passed every MOT since its importation in 2015 only ever showing a couple of advisories that were resolved immediately, which are all in the file.  Obviously, the Citroën DS is now MOT exempt but our vendor always felt it prudent to carry this out with its current one running until June this year.  Reviewing its MOT history will show it has only travelled 14,000 kilometres (8,700 miles) since 2015.   

Most of that mileage was added as our vendor has used the car to travel to France four times in his ownership, last summer being the last time.  As you would expect, it did not miss a beat. 

Exterior 

As is with all South African vehicles, it is a very solid and structurally sound example. The bright red paintwork has plenty of character but on close inspection is showing micro blistering here and there.  Don’t be fooled though, from six feet away the car looks fantastic, but it would be remiss of us or the vendor not to mention it.   

The bodywork itself, as alluded to, is very solid with no obvious signs of rust anywhere. There are the odd wear and tear marks that you would expect from a car that has just passed its 50th birthday but just look at the images, did we say it was a very solid straight car?  The underneath is as solid as the bodywork with just the usual surface rust that will come up nice with a stiff brush. 

The brightwork, all straight and undamaged, is in great condition with some minor pitting here and there.  Get stuck in with the Autosol for a couple of hours of polishing and it will come up a treat. 

All in all, a lovely looking Citroën DS. 

Interior 

Climbing into the DS and you will immediately see that the interior has been re upholstered, in fact the document pack shows that £2,500 was spent in 2015 to recover the seats, door pads and renew the carpets – giving this lovely characterful car a sense of luxury. 

Moving onto the dash, our vendor has shared that apart from maybe a couple of bulbs out all the ancillaries and switches work as they should.  One thing he did mention was that the fuel gauge has been temperamental in the past, but it seems to be fine at present. Again, it would be remiss of us not to mention that it has played up in the past. 

A retro radio with USB port has been fitted to add a little convenience. 

Wheels Tyres Suspension and other 

Having had new tyres when imported, our vendor shared that the tyres are all still going strong with plenty of tread left. The chrome wheel caps are all still in place and the wheels run true. 

Moving onto the suspension, which let’s be honest is the “pièce de resistance” when it comes to these iconic cars.  We will start with one unusual fact that the Citroën DS did not have a jack for lifting the car off the ground. Instead, the hydraulic system enabled wheel changes with the aid of a simple adjustable stand. To change a flat tyre, one would adjust the suspension to its topmost setting, insert the stand into a special peg near the flat tyre, then readjust the suspension to its lowermost setting.  The flat tyre would then retract upwards and hover above ground, ready to be changed.  How cool is that? 

With no leaks and no issues whatsoever, there are no worries about costly bills.  Those of you that have driven one of these you will know how wonderful the ride is and this is no different.  Just waft along and enjoy the comfort that these Citroëns deliver.  This suspension really was innovative in its day and led to the smooth, almost perfect ride that led it to become the dignitaries first choice when purchasing a luxury vehicle. 

The brakes work perfectly with the inboard fronts receiving a service to the tune of £630, which included replacing the handbrake pads so again, no costly bills on the horizon. 

Engine 

Previously serviced yearly, the 1985cc petrol engine received its most recent full service in June last year, at the same time as the MOT. Our vendor shared that it runs smoothly with no faults, being fitted with a more robust cam chain as opposed to a belt that is also smooth and silent.   

Mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox that works as it should and is as smooth as expected, you should expect a very reliable ride. 

Our view 

A truly iconic design masterpiece that firmly cemented Citroën as a serious car maker. The DS became a firm favourite with the upper classes carrying them around on that “oh so smooth” hydraulic suspension in comfort and grace to whatever appointment the upper class did back then. 

This Citroën DS, with its regular servicing, well presented interior and extremely solid body is clearly going to be a fantastic purchase for our winning bidder especially as the values will only be going one way as the years go by.  

Good luck bidding! Please remember, our site uses anti-sniping software which ensures fairness to all bidders. So, if a bid for a lot is received in the last minute, the auction will go into a 2-minute overtime period for each subsequent bid.

Vehicle Location: Lancaster LA2– it’s the responsibility of the winning bidder to make collection / transportation arrangements directly with the vendor.

Have a question about this Citroën DS? Please contact the Evoke team at auction@evoke-classics.com and we will speak to the vendor on your behalf.

 Guide Prices?

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Well, everyone knows the broad value of classic, let’s all be honest. So we don’t need to tell you what you already know, do we.

The ‘market’ decides and the old cliché that ‘it’s are worth what someone wants to pay’ is no less true. So why kid everyone!

But, because we are different, if it really does matter to you, that’s fine, we want you to be happy. Just drop us a line at auction@evoke-classics.com and one of us will be delighted to ring you back and discuss, it’s what we do.

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