Description
DS 21 Pallas EFI retaining its original 2175 cc (DX3) fuel injected engine with semi-automatic transmission. Finished in its original colour AC 093 (Blanc Cygne) with leather (naturelle foncé) interior by Enzo Forgione. The accompanying Citroen heritage certificate from the Conservatoire in Paris confirms its matching numbers.
Supplied new to Citroen Morlat of Clermont Ferrand in December 1969 and first registered to Patrick & Henriette Richard on the 19th January 1970. It has been garaged and meticulously maintained throughout its life. When Patrick passed away in 1992, the car remained in the heated basement of the family home in Corrèze, periodically maintained and preserved for the following 30 years. With only 67, 000 miles from new and one previous owner, the car’s history is fully documented, with a comprehensive file of paperwork including the driver’s handbook in its original leather wallet, original stamped service book (guide d'entretien), original manuals and brochures, an unused factory-tagged set of spare keys, French registration documents and the owner's service and warranty card (carte ADREMA). As a collector of these cars over many years, I have not seen or driven another like it. Probably one of the best examples of the marque left in the world.
The car was mechanically overhauled in 2018 in the Puy de Dôme by Citroen specialist Didier Plasse. It was then imported to England with additional work carried out by DS specialists Pallas Auto in Kent. It has been serviced by them throughout my ownership. The untouched chassis and underside is in exceptional condition, retaining its original factory protective coating.
In 2019 the car was repainted (body off and glass out), whilst carefully retaining the factory labels, chevron stamps and numbers applied to the boot, bonnet, internal doors and front wings during production. The perfectly aligned bodywork shows the correct factory metal punch indentations made during production.
The rear glass displays the original ‘DS21’ decal, affixed by the supplying dealer in December 1969. This denotes the safety award (Prix de la Sécurité) presented to Citroen by the French Motoring Press Association.
The replacement interior was provided by Enzo Forgione, an upholsterer and Citroen specialist in Bolzano who produces by far the most authentic DS and SM leather interiors; supplying Citroen and DS Automobiles for their heritage collection in showrooms throughout Paris. Original Pallas seats are reupholstered with leather of superb quality, identical in texture and colour to what Citroen produced in the late sixties and early seventies, with stitching measurements, thread colour and internal materials (hessian and felt) true to the original specification. The one-piece removable wide-shouldered headrests are period correct - September 1968 to August 1970. The short-levered chrome internal door handles and roof lining has been replaced, otherwise all internal stainless steel trim, chrome, dashboard, gauges, buttons and glass are all original and in exceptional condition. The original Continental Edison FM radio (Radioën R354) has been serviced by Agenta Audio and comes with its user manual.
