8 Responses to “1957 Citroen DS Dashboard”

1. tunde Says:
   September 10th, 2008 at 5:12 pm

   My dad had one when I was 4, It made such a lasting impression that when I grew up and could afford it I bought 2. These are the most beautiful cars ever made. The dash was so futuristic and makes you feel you are riding a space ship. Amazing.

2. m.dupont Says:
   September 10th, 2008 at 5:34 pm

   Tunde, I envy you. I would love to have one DS. Just one. They are some of the most beautiful cars every devised. Only one thing . . . I can’t decide whether I want a standard or “Break” model more.

3. noah Says:
   September 10th, 2008 at 8:35 pm

   citroen’s always been known for having some outlandish interiors, and this is the epitome of just that. that one pronged steering wheel is absolutely killer, and the placement of the rest of the knobs and levers is so obscure…lets go back to those days shall we citroen?

4. K. Nelson Says:
   September 11th, 2008 at 11:08 am

   My Dad, a chemist and technology buff who helped set up the first work safety standards in the US shipyards during WWII, must have had an eye for the unusual - pioneering stuff - which is what he did. He brought home a 1958 DS19 in 1962 when I was 18, and I was stunned by its design in all aspects - styling, engineering, interior design and useable space and comfort. The sweeping, all-plastic dash and singlespoke steering wheel were outerworldly, fascinating and totally innovative. Its multifuntion headlight, hi-lo horn and hi-lo/park/driving light switch did an incredible job of eliminating clutter on the dash. In addition to this switch, what blew me away was the stemlike shifter lever you could flick with your fingertips which eliminated the clutch, while not letting go of the wheel, the ability to change the ignition advance via a knob on the dash, plus a pull-down emergency lever for operating the wipers by hand! (the engineers must not have trusted their wiper motors at the time). The car’s superb handling saved Dad’s life one day when he had to dodge two cars facing him on a two lane road at a closing speed of 120 mph - with the fantastic steering he whipped the car off onto the shoulder at 60 without braking, the suspension soaked up the rough edge, the car stayed perfectly controllable, and he got back onto the road as though the car was on rails. Even today, the first DS dash is recognized immediately by car afficianados who were alive when the DS was introduced to the world in Oct. ‘55, setting the record for orders placed in the first week of the show.

5. Rick Feibusch Says:
   September 15th, 2008 at 3:07 am

   We had both an ID19 and a DS21 back in the late 1970s and found them very interesting and beautiful in their own way. The car seemed like it was designed an another planet, or at least an alternative universe. It was…. France…. The ID was a straight shift with a clutch pedal and all, but the DS had the electric shift and the rubber mushroom on the floor for a brake pedal. The shift was unlike anything before or since and doubled as an anti-theft devise to miscreants who steal normal cars. Of course the main discouragement to anyone unfamiliar was the fact that the car would slowly sink to the ground as the pressure released from the hydraulic suspension and appear hopelessly broken down and ready to be towed until the car was started and the pump would pressurize the system and again rise to operating height. Always amusing for bystanders. All controls were right at hand and everything worked well, as long as the driver understood what strange switch or lever did what. I never understood why the Citroen people were unable to make a turn signal switch that would cancel after a turn. If one drove the car daily remembering to turn the signal off became automatic, but since we also had a Morris Minor and a Buick Rivieria in the hoiusehold, the car often went down the highway signaling left for miles. In fact, today, many of the “Buck Rodgers” Citroens that I see are flashing unintended turn signals as they float to their destinations…….

6. Andrea 'Enthal Says:
   October 1st, 2008 at 8:59 pm

   I fell in love with the Citroen big beetle shaped car of the 1960’s when I was about 10 years old–how they picked themself up off the ground, and that wacky steering wheel.
   In 1967 when my parents were looking for a new car, and my mother was complaining about how rough all the suspensions made the rides, I suggested that they look at the air suspension Citroen and see if she liked that ride.
   My father answered curtly “we already have one car that we can’t get parts for, why would we buy another?”
   The car he was referring to was our 1960 Edsel.
   I still have that Edsel. Haven’t gotten my Citroen–yet. But if the right one came along…oui, oui, oui!

7. Spencer Dunbar Says:
   May 15th, 2009 at 12:18 am

   I had a DS21 and a semi-cannibalized break in the 80s. It was a goddess. Once I drove for about 2 hours on a flat w/out realizing it. The seats were just the most amazingly comfortable place to sit. Words fail this car.

8. Bob Dircks Says:
   August 25th, 2012 at 9:29 am

   Thats my 1957 Slough (English) DS19….. delivered new in Australia in 1957. I took it to the Jubilee in Paris in 2005, and toured for 2 months through europe, covering 16,000km, before shipping it back home. I guess this pic was taken at the Jubilee in October 2005.

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