The Citroën DS was 20 years ahead of its time — and Citroën could not build enough of them

The Citroën DS, launched at the 1955 Paris Motor Show, was unlike any car the world had seen. It had hydropneumatic suspension (self-levelling, adjustable ride height), a semi-automatic gearbox, power steering, and a body designed by Flaminio Bertoni, an aeronautical engineer. The car's drag coefficient was 0.38 — lower than most cars built in the 1980s.

The DS was 20 years ahead of its time. The hydropneumatic suspension was not matched by any other manufacturer until the 1970s. The semi-automatic gearbox was not common until the 1990s. The aerodynamic body was not standard until the 1980s. The car was a technical masterpiece.

But Citroën could not build enough of them. The DS was complex to manufacture, and Citroën's factories were not designed for the car's production. The company lost money on every DS it sold. The DS was replaced by the CX in 1974, and Citroën was acquired by Peugeot in 1976. The French auto trade tells the story as the definitive case of a product that was too advanced for the company that built it.