ID & DS

On October 6, 1955, the Citroën DS19 was introduced in Paris. More than 21 years after the introduction of the Traction Avant, another groundbreaking but not yet production-ready Citroën appeared. History repeated itself... Once production started, the DS quickly became an integral part of the street scene, and remained so even long after the last example rolled off the assembly line after 20 years of production. The DS and the DNA of its Divine Design lives on in several generations and fascinates many. This book offers something for everyone: historical information, new and inspiring facts and an abundance of stunning photos from brochures and private collections. The contents will amaze even the ultimate DS connoisseur.

A biography of a garage owner? That must be a very special character! And that is indeed Toon Langelaar. Interested in the Citroën DS from an early age, he enthusiastically began repairing it in his spare time. He also had a certain commercial spirit, which enabled him to find the gap in the market. Add to that a good portion of stubbornness and you find a man who sets his own course and doesn't follow the rules that others impose on him. What all this has led to, can be read in this book.

One day in early 1960, the French consulate in Detroit organised a cocktail party. Because of his knowledge of the French language, designer Henry De Ségur Lauve was invited along as an interpreter. At the party, he met Pierre Bercot, general manager of Citroën. They got talking about Citroën design and Bercot invited De Ségur Lauve for a meeting in Paris. That conversation went positively and in May 1960 De Ségur Lauve signed a cooperation agreement with Citroën to produce design proposals that suited the taste of American consumers. From then on, De Ségur Lauve came out with a fair number of sketches with a decidedly American influence for new models. The first designs are still sometimes reminiscent of facelifted DSs, but soon they look more like spacecraft than cars for everyday use. De Ségur Lauve had access to Citroën’s design studio and could see what the designers were working on, which allowed him to create ‘Americanised’ variants based on those models. Examples found in this book include proposals for the later Citroën CX and the interior of the Citroën SM. Much of De Ségur Lauves spectacular designs ended up in the Citroën archives and were forgotten. After more than 50 years, this book showcases his work prominently for the first time. A unique piece of Citroën history! The texts in the book are in Dutch, French and English.