Imagine it’s 1955. The world is still driving cars that are essentially motorized horse carriages with leaf springs and drum brakes. Then, out of nowhere, Citroën drops the DS at the Paris Motor Show. It doesn’t just look like a spaceship; it thinks like one. In a single afternoon, they took 12,000 orders.
But here’s the thing: while the rest of the world was building cars, Citroën built a high-pressure plumbing experiment that just happened to have seats and a radio. It is the ultimate Final Boss of automotive maintenance—a car that will reward you with the smoothest ride in history, or bankrupt you with a single 2,400 PSI leak.
The ‘Spaceship vs. Sprinkler’ Metaphor
Driving a Citroën DS is like piloting a low-flying cloud. It’s smooth, it’s silent, and it feels like it’s defying physics. But the moment a seal fails or a high-pressure line pinholes, that spaceship instantly transforms into an industrial-grade garden sprinkler.
Because every major system—brakes, steering, gearshift, and suspension—is fed by the same pressurized fluid, a single leak doesn’t just mean a puddle on your driveway. it means you lose everything. Imagine your PC’s CPU cooler, power supply, and GPU all sharing the same loop, and if one tube pops, the whole house loses power. That’s the DS life.
Deep-Dive: The 170-Bar Heart
The DS doesn’t use electricity or mechanical linkage to do the heavy lifting; it uses raw, terrifying pressure.
The 7-Piston Pump: This is the heart of the beast. Belt-driven off the engine, this high-pressure pump constantly churns to maintain roughly 170 bar (2,465 psi) of pressure. For context, your car tires are at 2 bar. If this pump fails, you’re steering a 3,000lb brick with no brakes.
The Nitrogen Spheres: Instead of traditional springs, the DS uses green “spheres” filled with high-pressure nitrogen. A rubber diaphragm separates the gas from the hydraulic fluid. When you hit a bump, the fluid pushes against the nitrogen, which compresses and rebounds. It’s the ultimate variable-rate spring, providing “magic carpet” comfort that modern luxury cars still struggle to match.
The Fluid Disaster (LHS vs. LHM): Early DS models used LHS (Liquide Hydraulique Synthétique)—a red, vegetable-based fluid. It was great, until it wasn’t. LHS was hygroscopic (it absorbed water), which meant it literally rusted the car’s internal plumbing from the inside out. In 1967, Citroën switched to LHM (Liquide Hydraulique Minéral), the green mineral oil we know and love today. Pro tip: Never mix them. Unless you want your seals to turn into jelly and your wallet to evaporate.
Why the 1955 DS Was 20 Years Ahead
While Detroit was still figuring out tailfins, Citroën was playing Cyberpunk 2077. The DS featured:
Self-Leveling Suspension: Load it with five adults and a trunk full of wine, and it would automatically rise back to its perfect ride height.
Disc Brakes: The first mass-produced car with front disc brakes. They weren’t even regular discs—they were mounted inboard, next to the gearbox, to reduce unsprung weight.
3-Wheel Driving: Thanks to the independent hydraulic leveling, you could literally remove a rear wheel and drive the car on three wheels. It’s the ultimate get home flex.
The ‘Hydraulic Spider’ Maintenance Nightmare
If you pop the hood of a DS, you’ll see it: the Hydraulic Spider. It’s a terrifying labyrinth of high-pressure steel and rubber lines that branch out from the main regulator like a metallic arachnid.
There are over 50 individual high-pressure connections in a DS. Each one is a potential failure point. Because the engine bay is incredibly cramped, replacing a single leaking line in the spider often requires removing the radiator, the alternator, or your own sanity. It’s the kind of job that makes even veteran mechanics start looking for a career in accounting.
A £1000 Cautionary Tale: The ‘Cash Machine Cars‘ Failure
We’ve all seen it—the cheap classic car. Harry from the Cash Machine Cars YouTube channel proved exactly why a £1000 Citroën DS is the most expensive thing you can ever buy. He picked up a running DS for the price of a used MacBook, only to realize the hydraulic system was essentially a colander.
Watching him struggle with rusted panels, a leaky suspension, and a stalling enging due to old, dirty fuel, is a masterclass in why you buy the best DS you can afford, not the cheapest, unless you are as skilled as Harry, the host of the video, and can DIY yourself out of those situations. When 170 bars of pressure meet 50-year-old rubber seals, your savings will disappear faster than the LHM fluid on your garage floor.
The Verdict: Is It Worth It?
The Citroën DS is a technical marvel that shouldn’t exist. It’s a car designed by poets and engineered by madmen. Yes, the hydraulic system is a high-stakes boss fight every time you turn the key, and yes, it will eventually leak.
But the moment you hit a cobblestone street at 50 mph and feel absolutely nothing, you’ll realize why people put up with the nightmare. It’s not just a car; it’s a 170-bar triumph of over-engineering. Just keep a spare liter of LHM and a fire extinguisher in the trunk. You know, just in case.