Cars in the wild: a Citroën
Parked just outside of town near a large supermarket I found this Citroën DS:
Olympus Stylus 1s, 50mm, ISO200, f8, 1/50
Introduced in 1955, the Citroën DS was the most advanced car of her time, having front-wheel drive, an independent, hydraulic, self-levelling suspension, variable ride height, disk brakes, power steering and braking, a semi-automatic gearbox, etc. When you break hard, the rear of the car is pulled to the ground to keep the car horizontal. The ride is perfectly smooth on any surface.
The fibreglass roof and aluminium bonnet give her a low centre of gravity, the engine is mounted behind the front wheels, and different front and rear track widths and tyre sizes reduce oversteer to a minimum, so she corners really well (having owned one, I can attest to that).
The nose was redesigned in 1967 to be more aerodynamic and from then on included high beams that turn with the steering. This particular one, judging from the door handles, was built in or after 1973. You can see the swivelling high beams in this photo:
Olympus Stylus 1s, 100mm, ISO200, f8, 1/60
Over her life span, the car came with four cylinder engines varying from 1911cc to a 2347cc with electronic fuel injection, the latter giving the car a top speed of 188km/h (117mph). The transmissions used were a 3-speed automatic, a 4-speed semi-automatic, and 4- and 5-speed manuals.
Chapron built a small series of cabriolets, see this post.
The last one was built in 1975; over 1.4 million of these beauties were made. She is still a looker.
Previous car in the wild: a Ferrari.
@ocrdu I admire how you still manage to take great shots
it's hard to take shots of cars or any vehicle here but you still made great ones - I tried once - on a parking - a classic cadillac with a lady in it but hub stopped me cause they might get offended, cool of you to manage to take this and this neat - KUDOS!
plus you published it - information packed!
it's awesome!
Thanks!
I always ask first if there is somebody in or near it. People don't mind as long as you blot out the licence plate. Most owners are car enthousiasts and proud of their cars, so they like someone taking pictures. I mostly get down on one knee when I shoot cars, not out of respect 8-) but the low stance somehow makes them look better.
@ocrdu true! the lady in it even fixed her hair and posed for me hahaha
I did ask , I always do and thought of just editing the plate
I love classic cars and since top gears all down - i'm glad pips are posting about 'em here .
'De Snoek', I love that car!
Do you have one?
No, I just have the pleasure of knowing someone who has one. :-)
I understand they were the thugmobile of the era, is that true?
I know its predecessor, the Traction Avant, was. Don't know about the DS, but I suppose it could have been the getaway car of choice, as it has a big trunk, is fast, corners well, and will merrily continue on its way with a rear tyre shot off.
Wait a minute. How do you know it will continue on its way with its tire shot off?
Um, I read about this. My DS was never shot at. That I noticed. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
But seriously: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citro%C3%ABn_DS#In_popular_culture
More precise sources say that the left front and right rear right tires were hit. Also, I drove mine around slowly with one rear wheel completely missing and that worked OK.