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"The first thing that strikes you is the ride; the car pumps itself up and it just floats across any surface in a way no car in the '50s could equal, and indeed, it's almost up to 1980s standard. The power steering chirrups and chirps away to itself, and the suspension sighs and moans; it's a car that's essentially alive the whole time that you're driving along."
- Chris Goffey on the DS

The Citroën DS was a French executive car built by Citroën from 1955 to 1975, with the original intention of replacing the comparatively ancient Traction Avant. The car was a massive success, and close to 1.5 million would be built by the time production ceased.

Appearances[]

Series 18, Episode 8 (Old Top Gear)[]

DS COTD

Chris Goffey talks about the Citroën DS.

The DS would make its Top Gear debut in Series 18, Episode 8 of the Original format, which aired on the 29th of October, 1987. Peering out of a Percival Pembroke, a "proper plane" according to the wise presenter, Chris Goffey remarked that at the 1955 Paris Motor Show, there was a sensation. The sensation being the DS 19, whose looks "stunned" the motoring world. It was the first time aerodynamics had truly played a role in the design of a car and made the likes of the Austin Somerset look archaic in comparison.

Driving the car down some hilly country roads, Goffey remarks just how good the ride is for a car that was then 30 years old, and concludes his segment by mentioning that although the first cars suffered from various problems relating to its complex hydraulic suspension and transmission, these were soon worked out and over 1.5 million would be produced, defining the French automotive industry for decades to come.

Top Gear: Car of the Decade[]

For the show's 20th series premiere in September 1988, which compiled all of the previously-aired Car of the Decade segments into a single special, the DS segment from Series 18, Episode 8 would be re-aired along with the other cars of each decade that were nominated during that series, the DS representing the 1950s.

Series 1, Episode 5 (The Car's The Star)[]

DS TCTS

The green DS driven by Quentin Willson.

The fifth episode of Quentin Willson's spinoff show The Car's The Star would be centred around the Citroën DS. Driving around Paris, Willson reminisces over how he'd always desire the DS from a young age, waxing over its suspension, headlights and sounds the car would make as you drove it along and that as a 10 year old boy, the DS was just about the "maddest" thing in the automotive industry. Over the course of the episode, Willson would interview various luminary figures connected to the DS, such as Anton Rodgers and Alan Clark, as well as go over the history of this illustrious automobile.

Clarkson's Top 100 Cars[]

"21st century technology, 50 years early."
―Clarkson's Top 100 Cars

The DS briefly appeared in Jeremy Clarkson's 2001 home video release entitled Clarkson's Top 100 Cars. It appears as a photograph and represents the car that Clarkson believes to have been the 72nd best car in the world as of 2001.

Series 1, Episode 3[]

Once the show relaunched in 2002, host Jeremy Clarkson described the Porsche 928 as the best looking car ever designed. New host Richard Hammond was keen to disagree, citing the DS as worthy of that title. Hammond would then dedicate a segment to the car, driving the car through London as he remarks about how futuristic the DS was for its time, with its hydro-pneumatic suspension, disc brakes, aerodynamic body shell and swiveling headlights. Once back in the studio, Clarkson decided the reason he didn't agree with Hammond was because of the type of person that drove a DS being too serious for his liking.

Series 2, Episode 8[]

DS S02E08

The yellow DS driven in Series 2, Episode 8.

In a segment that would later be cut from future broadcasts for time-saving purposes, a yellow British-built example of the Citroën DS was once more tested by a member of the trio for the eighth episode of Series 2.

Top Gear Apocalypse[]

Brief clips of the DS from Series 2, Episode 8 would later be re-used for the home video release Top Gear: Apocalypse, as Richard Hammond talks about the various things each country would be remembered for with regards to their respective automotive industry, citing that the French would be remembered for their quirky brilliance.

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