Has anyone seen the movie “Catch me if you can?” The French Police cars in that movie are identical to a car that parks a few streets away from me, but I have no idea what type of car it is.
It’s certainly the most unique looking auto I’ve ever seen.
It’s a fourdoor, and I’d guess it’s from the 50’s or 60’s… It’s got a sorta upsidedown bathtub shape to it. The general shape seems to slope downward to the back, in a sorta tapered turd fashion, and it has two sets of taillights. One set is at the rear bumper, and the other set is at the top corners of the rear window.
It has scoop shapes on the front corners, and the headlights are mounted here.
The only marking consists of two, upward pointing chevrons, a bit like an army Sergeant’s insignia, but with only two chevrons.
Any Ideas? It’s driving me nuts. This has to be one of the neatest looking vehicles I’ve ever seen. You know, so ugly it’s beautiful… almost like they went out of their way to make it bizzare.
Yes, it’s a DS. Front wheel drive, smallish four-cylinder engine, and hydraulic-pneumatic suspension. Very aerodynamic shape. Unusual in that the car has a high-pressure hydraulic system, powered by an engine-driven pump, which handles steering assist, braking, and suspension.
On some top-of-the-line models, shifting is also handled by hydraulics: You move a slender wand-like lever to shift gears and the hydraulics operate the clutch, select the gear, and handle engine speed during the shift.
Very soft ride; my friend Chris The Citroen God says that he can drive full bore over most speed bumps and never even notice them.
You float like you’re on a boat on those Citroen.
As a kid I would go into the car while this relative of mine would start it, because the hydraulic suspension would rise the car up and it was the coolest thing.
I lot of people can’t stand them because it actually make them “sea” sick!
Thanks folks. I drive past it every day for work, and my reaction slowly changed from horror at first sight to familiarity to marveling the sight of it. It’s got some of the most interesting lines I’ve ever seen on a car.
