Chassis number: 4400036
Body number: 013 000510

A jewel in the crown of French coachbuilding
Rare manual gearbox version, Citroën Heritage Certificate
4 previous owners, all from around Lyon
Presented in very good condition and perfect working order

Introduced in 1955, the styling of the DS was a great inspiration for the coachbuilder Henri Chapron: three years later, he offered his sublime rendition of it in the form of a convertible. Won over by his proposal, Citroën added the convertible to its range from 1960, but continued to entrust the actual building of the model to the coachbuilder in Levallois-Perret. Until 1971, they were known as ‘factory convertibles’. In October 1960, the press lavished praise on the model: Le Figaro ran the headline “A startling innovation: a convertible with especially pure lines”, while Paris-Presse added: “A feast for the eyes”. Carrying over all the technological innovations of the saloon, for many years no other European convertible could rival the beauty or the comfort of the DS; the superiority of Citroën’s hydropneumatic suspension, far ahead of its time, was confirmed by its continued use into the 21st century. In all, just 1365 ‘factory convertibles’, based on the DS 19 and DS 21, were built from 1960 to 1971.
The DS cabriolet which we are offering for sale is a ‘factory convertible’ from 1963, fitted with the rare manual gearbox corresponding to the DS 19M series, as the Citroën Heritage Certificate included in the documentation with the car confirms. Its clear history file enabled us to trace its four previous owners, all of whom lived in the area around Lyon. The car was delivered new on 5 April 1963 to Jacky Farine, the manager of Fernand Raynaud better known as Jacky Yfar, and was used to follow the artists which the agency run by Genevoise Yfar looked after. It was then sold in 1977 to its second owner, a member of the Touring Club de France, who treasured it for eight years. At this point, two brothers who were fans of rare Citroën models took an interest in it: one of them acquired it in 1985 and registered it in the Charente ‘département’, before selling it to his brother in 1990. The car is still in its original Carmine red paintwork (from the 1963 colour chart), which became Carnelian red in 1966, and has never had the slightest accident. It is amusing too to note that both side windows and the windscreen are still engraved with the car’s first registration in 1963, 2956 CE 69, confirming that it has been in the Rhône ‘département’ right from the start and that it has never been in an accident. A discerning collector, its last owner covered many tens of thousands of kilometres behind the wheel before undertaking a restoration of the bodywork in 2002 and a mechanical overhaul in 2008, carried out by Pierre Laux of Citroën Ecully. The engine, gearbox, clutch, transmission, suspension spheres, steering … the work was completed just in time to show the car at Euro Citro, the major international meeting to celebrate the marque’s 90th anniversary at the Le Mans circuit. More recently, the centre sections of both front seat backrests were restored, making good the five pleats which had previously been reconditioned during the 1990s.
According the Olivier de Serres’ precious reference work, Citroën DS au panthéon de l’automobile (published by Anthèse), of 207 cabriolets built in 1963, our Citroën DS 19 is one of 46 cars built with the four-speed manual gearbox. As the car wafted us down the road, our test proved once again that the Citroën DS fully deserves its place in the world’s greatest collections, its advanced technology as revolutionary in its day as its design was ground-breaking!

There can be no doubt that this convertible will satisfy the most demanding of enthusiasts, its history, good service record, presentation and rarity making it one of the finest examples on the market today.

This car will be sold by auction by AGUTTES Auction House, in La Ferté-Vidame, at the Citroën Centenary, France, on July the 21th, 2019.
The digital catalog will be available soon on our website
https://www.aguttes.com/en/sale/99015
Please contact us for any further details.
Phones numbers:
+33 760 781 018
+33 668 362 622
+33 147 459 301