Citroen DS
Imagine being transported back in the year 1955 to the Paris Auto Show. Many cars were on display but most were warmed-up pre-war designs with standard engine and drivetrain choices and nothing really interesting. All of a sudden, Citroen’s booth showed off a brand-new DS. It was a car with a self-leveling hydropneumatic suspension, front-wheel drive, an aluminum hood, and a plastic roof. For all visitors to the 1955 Paris Auto Show, the Citroen DS wasn’t just a car but a vision of the future (via CCC).
This was precisely what Citroen intended and the DS was designed to be the best and the most innovative car in the world. Customers accepted the futuristic model. By the end of the first day of the show, over 18,000 orders were placed for the new model. The DS was also sold in America, where it was considered a technical marvel, but it had only modest success in the market. Despite its basic design’s advantages, Citroen always needed help with underpowered four-cylinder engines and complicated mechanics, so US customers were reserved. However, in all other parts of the world, the DS was very well received and sold over 1.5 million copies before the production stopped in 1975.