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The DS, a fifty-year-old goddess, part II
By Stéphane Schlesinger on 3 June 2005 | 
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Bertoni died in 1963, but he had had time to draw a new front end for the DS. It came out in 1967, and once again, the audience was amazed. 4 headlamps took place under a glass panel, conferring the big Citroen an aggressive look. The central 2 lamps rotated the same direction as the wheels and in the mean time, automatically adjusted to the height of the car.
In 1969, a new “safety” dashboard took place in the cockpit and an electronic injection was adapted to the DS 21, which then developed up to 130bhp.
The ID 19 was replaced by the DSpecial and the ID 20 by the DSuper.
In 1971, the 2175 cc engine evolved to 2347 cc, and its power rose to 115bhp if alimented by a carburettor or 139bhp with the electronic injection, allowing the DS to reach a top speed of 118 mph. What a contrast with the 90 mph of the 1955 DS 19!The 2175 cc engine did not disappear though, and was mounted in a new DSuper5 instead.
In the same year, the production of the refined cabriolet ceased.
In 1973, the production ceased in Paris and was transferred to Aulnay-Sous-Bois, on a new assembly line designed for the CX, launched the following year
In 1974, the businessman-intended DS Prestige Pallas disappeared.
On April 24, 1975, the last DS sedan, a blue 23 Pallas, rolled out of the factory, it was the 1,330,755th made in France.
If we add the copies made abroad (in Slough, UK, for example, or Forest, Belgium), the figure rises to 1,455,746. Neither the CX (even if it sold honourably) nor the XM (a real failure) were able to reproduce the dazzling success of the DS, and I don’t think the future C6 will.
Even after 20 years, the DS remained out of reach in terms handling and ride and dynamic safety. Besides, its 0.36 cz drag coefficient was still unsurpassed, even by the CX.
But what remains of this car, beyond its charisma and its unique character, is the flavour of the dream.
Those who had designed it did not care of silly marketing laws, they just wanted to make their dreams come true.
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