Citroën DS19, Jean Guichet and de Bourbon-Parme, Rallye Monte-Carlo, January 1964
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Category Archives: Citroën
The Wankel Motor: 1960’s Engine of the Future
by J Kraus
World’s first Wankel-powered production car: the NSU Spider, 1964
Automobiles can trace their reciprocating-piston engines back to the early days of steam power. As internal combustion replaced steam as the preferred method of powering transport, the concept of using reciprocating pistons to convert energy into motion was carried over.
As the automobile matured, the efficiency and operating smoothness of the reciprocating piston engine gradually improved through the use of a multiplicity of smaller cylinders, shorter piston strokes, counterbalanced crankshafts and other refinements. By the dawn of the 1960s however; the automobile was seemingly falling behind aviation, which had switched to smooth continuous-combustion jet engines. A number of auto manufacturers experimented with gas turbine engines, but none entered mass production.
The Allure of Period Colours
by J Kraus
Lord Brett Sinclair’s Bahama Yellow Aston Martin DBS in “The Persuaders!”
Ancient wisdom once held that in the vintage car market, red, white and black were the best colours for resale. However, as Bob Dylan once declared; The times they are a-changin’.
Early Porsche 911 collectors for example often seek out and pay a premium for the colours that made those cars unique to their time period: Signal Orange, Viper Green, Aubergine, Tangerine; even the more esoteric shades of Olive and Golden Green.
Citroën U55 Currus Cityrama Revisited
by J Kraus
Citroën U55 Currus Cityrama
Fans of the iconic Citroën Cityrama tour bus have reason to rejoice. The Criterion Collection is releasing the 1960 Louis Malle fim, Zazie dans le Métro on 28 June in Region 1 NTSC DVD and Blu-Ray. The French comedy was only the third full-length film directed by Malle, who went on to helm Murmur of the Heart, Pretty Baby and Atlantic City. The futuristic Citroën U55 Currus Cityrama, featured at Auto Universum in March of 2009, is a prominent presence in the film.
The Sixties at Fifty: 1961
by J Kraus
1961 Porsche poster celebrating competition victories of the prior season
By 1961 the last vestiges of the fifties were ebbing and the currents of the sixties starting to more strongly assert themselves. The second year of the decade witnessed the first manned space flight, construction of the Berlin Wall and the first season of The Avengers.
It was a banner year for British sports car enthusiasts. Jaguar unleashed its dramatic new feline, the ‘E’ Type, dubbing it The Most Advanced Sports Car in the World.
The Amazing Technicolor Citroëns
by J Kraus
Citroën DS in Vert Printemps (Spring Green) with Champagne (Ivory) roof
Citroën dropped a bombshell when it unveiled the DS 19 at the Paris Salon in October of 1955. It was so futuristic in style that it appeared to have beamed-in from another planet. Even better, the car had the technical specification that fully justified the space-age exterior: self-leveling hydropneumatic suspension, adjustable ride-height, disc brakes, radial tires, powered steering, brakes, clutch and gearchange, aluminium and fibreglass body panels and active load-proportional braking. Never before or since has a new car been introduced with such an advanced specification and so many new technical innovations.
Apparently, Citroën wished to further advance the futuristic aura of the new DS via an advanced, fashion-forward colour palette.
Image from the Past
A cadre of Citroën pilots climbs toward Chambéry for the inaugural meeting of the Knights of the Order of the Ami-6. February, 1962
Photo courtesy of AutoBlogs: Backward-Slanted Rear Window
The Godfathers of Automotive Propulsion
by J Kraus
Prototype Lamborghini V12, with chief designer Giotto Bizzarrini, Ferrucio Lamborghini and chassis designer Gian Paolo Dallara. Sant’Agata, Italy, 1963
Please join me in saluting ten automobile engines that conquered time and defied obsolescence. Engines with staying power. All have all been offered for sale in the world’s most competitive markets for over 40 years. They represent a full range, from inline and opposed twins to V12’s in sizes ranging from 0.4 litre to 6.8 litres. Some were conceived as cost-no-object exercises; others, humble workhorse engines of the people. Still others were robust mainstream powerplants that attained immortality in the crucible of competition. A few are still available.
Image from the Past
Swedish postal stamps depicting a Citroën DS, Ford Mustang, Volkswagen Beetle and Volvo PV 444
Alan Clark: The Thinking Man’s Enthusiast
by J Kraus
Back Fire: A Passion for Cars and Motoring by Alan Clark
I just recently finished reading Alan Clark’s Back Fire. It is a very refreshing book as he was a true connoisseur of automobiles and motoring; one of the few among enthusiasts that sought something special from his vehicles beyond performance and prestige.
In short; a man after my own heart. Alan could have as much fun behind the wheel of his 2CV, Beetle or 1950 Chevrolet as he would driving his Silver Ghost, Bentley Continental or 550 Spyder. As long as the car was imaginatively designed, well executed and entertaining to drive – that is what mattered.
Unlike the majority of enthusiasts and collectors, Alan was not so concerned with the bragging rights and bravado that come with high top speeds, low 0-60 figures and impressive lap times. These are the purview of those who evaluate cars as amusement park rides rather than automobiles. He was much more interested in the driving experience and character of his cars. To him, power and speed were subservient to soul.
