Description
By definition, it is a unique car, even though in France there may be perhaps five truly convertible DSs, all different.
The very first May 1965 DS Pallas, hydraulic box, palladium grey (A 108, the badge still present). The car belonged to a deputy and still bears its entry badge to the National Assembly (enamel).
In 1978 it was bought back by a coachbuilder from Castres who modernised it by switching to green hydraulic fluid (LHM, much more reliable) and above all transformed it into a convertible, following the model of the D Super converted by Chapron in 1970 for Gaston Defferre. With his grandfather, a retiree from Chapron, they did superb work and the car has since been fully convertible while retaining its four doors. It is therefore a perfectly legal transformation.
It was bought back in 2017 by a luxury car hire firm, which changed the interior but kept it as a 1967 Pallas model and repainted it, still in A108.
I bought it back in 2022. It has just come out of maintenance, full oil and fluid service, reinstallation of a mechanical petrol pump, installation of electronic ignition and a high-tension coil, replacement of the dynamo with an alternator, replacement of the water pump and all belts, replacement of all original bulbs with LEDs (interior and exterior), checked the electrical circuit (rewired where necessary), improved the hood system, replaced the side mouldings and the under-sill inox, repainted what remains of the roof. It runs wonderfully and is registered as a collectible.
It is now time for it to enrich the collection of a new enthusiast of rare DSs.
It is a marvellous automobile with faultless hydraulics and legendary comfort that attracts kindness and approving looks. Moreover, because of its double rarity (first Pallas and a convertible), it interests enthusiasts and specialists in Citroëns and DSs.
Details about the car:
Citroën DS 19, May 1965, Pallas
First registration: 03/ 05/ 1965
Chassis number: 4308620
This is a fairly uncommon car; its Palladium grey is the rarest and most ephemeral colour in the DS range because, on the one hand, it was reserved for Pallas models only and, on the other, the AC 108 was replaced by the AC 108 B from 1966. Moreover, note that the very first Pallass in the 1965 model year had many details differentiating them from the Pallass that followed.
Indeed, on these particular 1965 models, six elements are not finished in Pallas:
- the ashtray is black
- the heater knob is standard
- the height adjustment lever is not finished in Pallas
- the hood release pulls are standard
- the accelerator pedal is standard
- the foot brake release is standard
- the seat adjustment control knob is not chrome.
In 1966 these details were added to the Pallas models.
These details are still present on the car, proof of its authenticity.
Louis: +33 6 32 299 137
